A British Werewolf In Handler's Corners
by SharpAsFlint
Summary: The BF5 encounter a dangerous battle zone during a lunar eclipse, having to take on not only the vandals, but a pack of fierce creatures. One of the team members is bitten, and strange things start happening around the town, reports of attacks and sightings of a large creature on the salt flats. They soon discover that this problem is more within their ranks than they once thought.
1. Penumbra

"Ugh, again?! Anchovies, how can you eat those things?" Spinner watched his younger brother down a second slice of anchovy and chilli pizza. Sherman just grinned and wiped his mouth, making a sound of contentment. "Who decided to put fish on pizza?" The younger Cortez gagged as he slumped down in his seat and folded his arms. "I think I've just lost my appetite."

"Speak for yourself," Agura added, sipping her coffee "I still feel a little nauseous from that last battle zone."

"Kiburi did shake you around in that fight for the key," Vert admitted, "maybe you should ask sage to check you out when we get back."

"I'm fine, really, it just doesn't seem like we're getting the edge that we need on the reds." Vert frowned as the rest of the team seemed to nod or mumble in agreement.

"She's right mate, Reverb was completely scorched back there," Stanford said with his usual attitude.

"It should get easier the more we fight them guys, and sage's work on the respawn chamber technology shouldn't continue for much longer," Vert assured, seeing everyone's demotivated faces.

"At least we don't have Zemerik and his robo buddies to deal with for the time being," Zoom cut in, seemingly making the team feel better about the situation.

"Yeah, narrowing it down to two groups of baddies should make things easier," Spinner chimed in.

"Down to brutal red sentients and ferocious, mutant animals," Stanford muttered.

Just as Vert was about to respond, the door to the diner swung opened and Zeke walked in, proudly carrying something that could only be described as a pile of junk. Nearly everyone in the small diner raised their eyebrows at what the 'could be called crazy' man had in his hands. Grace was the first one to ask him what it was and he responded with it being a 'UFO signature detector'. Spinner and Stanford were the first two that Zeke heard snickering at this.

"Now hold on a sec you young'uns, abnormal space activity is the perfect time for aliens to invade! And this beauty is gonna detect them when they arrive," Zeke said, polishing the rusty contraption.

Vert cringed, knowing that the 'abnormal space activity' was just a lunar eclipse about to take place over the salt flats. Vert patted the man on the back in a friendly manor. "It's only a blood moon Zeke, I don't think that it'll attract any aliens to Handler's corners."

"That's what you think!" Zeke marched off outside with his machine, slamming the door. Vert shook his head at Zeke, but then hesitated as his com link beeped loudly. The rest of the five noticed and stood up from their seats.

"Problem with your watches?" Grace asked from a nearby table.

"Just an issue back at the garage," Vert responded with a lie, pausing at the door before dashing out, everybody else following. Whilst jumping into the saber, sage's voice became apparent in the car.

"Storm shock in t-minus 2 minutes." Vert pulled out of the small lot and led the team off road into the salt flats. The red eclipse moon was shining down onto the barren land from the early night sky, giving it an eerie red tint. "Be careful team, the lunar activity may cause battle zone anomalies."

"Oh great, please say that it doesn't mean evil doppelgangers and good vandals again!" Stanford growled, throwing his hands up inside his car in response to the memory.

"These readings could mean anything team, please proceed with caution."

Vert had already eyed the electric storm up ahead and looked on as the cars began to lift towards the portal, the lightening striking around the dark whirl of blue that was the portal. When the blinding light cleared, it revealed the battle zone.

It wasn't the average kind of battle zone that they tended to face. No machinery, rockery or sentient technology, not even any sort of landmarks. In fact, from the clearing that was the portal, it was nothing but trail paths wound into a huge fortress of trees. Possibly like your average multiverse coniferous forest. The second thing that was noticed was the lack of light, only provided by the red moon above.

"That must be the anomaly that sage was talking about."

"Fan out guys, see if you can find me a key," Vert called, each car taking a separate dirt path. The darkness made his skin crawl, each gap between the trees so dark that it could camouflage almost anything.

"This place is creep central," Spinner shuddered.

"Yeah, no kidding," Zoom agreed, the chopper's headlights being the only thing illuminating the road ahead.

"Blimey, how do we find the key in here! It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!"

"Yeah, do you think we could manage with a little recon above the trees?"

"Can't take the chance," Vert told the youngest team member, "we need more space."

"So much for a quick run," Zoom muttered, "at least we haven't run into any evil doppelgangers."

"Yet," Spinner finished. He too had to note that the buster's targeting system wasn't picking up any moving targets.

"Do you think it's an ambush?" Agura added with a cautious tone.

"There's nowhere to ambush us from."

"Just keep looking, but stay sharp," Vert cut in, "the vandals or red sentients won't be far behind us." He bit his lip, thinking that maybe they should have brought AJ along with them, as maybe the gear slammer could have cleared some of the trees to find something, or at least make some space to get the chopper airborne above the towering spindly pines. As he continued to drive down the dirt path, he noticed how the road continued to deteriorate the further on he went. All of the paths seemed to wind about into different directions rather than diverting away from each other, so that he would sometimes see a flash of headlights from between the trees. The eeriness of the situation was increased by the lack of communication over the com lines by the team mates. The silence was that loud, that when Agura's voice crackled to life in the radio, it gave him relief. But relief not to last.

"Vert! I've got a situation here!"

"What's the problem Agura?"

"I've got good news and bad news," She replied.

"Good news first," Spinner asked.

"Good news is, I've found the key-,"

"And the bad news?!"

"The vandals have found it too," She admitted, "the key is in some kind of creatures nest at the mouth of a cave, and the vandals have congregated around it."

Vert stamped the gas pedal. "Hang tight, we're on our way." Impeded by the space to reverse, he carried on, hoping that the paths would merge. Within driving a couple hundred yards, Vert came upon a clearing with a large ledge, the tangler sitting atop and the rest of the team pulling up behind them. Vert noticed immediately that the drop led into another level with cave mouth nearby and at this entrance was the alleged nest, with the key centred it the middle. However, the vandals seemed to no longer be focused on this key.

"Subspecies!"

A string of spears flew upwards from the dip, nearly striking the saber. Moving first, Vert watched as the tangler jumped down into the gap and began to wage battle on the mutants. The rest of the team followed suit, driving down the less steep slope on the other side. There was a large amount of space around the cave, and Kalus had taken this opportunity to form a defence around the key. Yet Vert's confidence told him that a couple of weapon strikes would break the warlord's defences. Agura had gone straight for sever, trying to disable the metal jaws that were snapping at her tyres. Everyone else was engaged with a vandal, including Zoom who had finally managed to get airborne, leaving Kalus for him.

"Paws of the key Kalus!" Blades charged, he assaulted the humanoid cat, who responded by shooting a number of crossbow arrows. The two vehicles collided, leaving them parallel to the nest and the key.

"It is you who will be destroyed!" Kalus roared, but then ducked with a growl as hatch and the scarab came barrelling over his charithot, clattering to a halt with a missing wheel. The leader's eyes narrowed to slits with anger. Vert could only smirk. With hatch busy fixing his wheel and Krocomodo and Sever cornered by the rest of the team, Kalus seemed to be outraged. Stanford began firing his sonic cannons at the warlord, who began to drive circles around the pit to avoid being hit. Sever had managed to slip past the barricade, but was soon sent spinning out by the chopper as Zoom landed in the centre of the nest, ready to swoop in on the key.

"Nice one Zoom!"

"Nothing like kicking Vandal butt!" The biker grabbed the key with a victory cheer as Kalus and his Vandals growled. The growling only seemed to get louder the longer Zoom held the key.

"Hey Sherm, is that your stomach?" Spinner joked, prodding him.

"That doesn't sound like Sherman or the Vandals guys!"

Zoom swallowed nervously. "Oh boy." The growling turned into snarling as even the vandals started looking towards the cave, where the loud noise was echoing from. Several pairs of yellow eyes appeared in the pitch black maw and both teams froze as the creatures made themselves known. A small pack of large canine creatures came forth into the car headlights. Vert's eyes widened as the largest one at the front, presumably the leader looked right at the team scout. The huge creature snarled, salivating, revealing its gaping maw and curved fangs. Its brown brindled fur was bristled all along its back and its eyes were locked on Zoom, more specifically the key.

Vert could only watch as the huge beast leapt at the biker.

"Zoom!"

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 ** _Hello there, this is my first and probably only story for this fandom. This idea has been at the back of my mind for ages and would not leave me alone so I ended up trying to write it out. You've probably read the summary and title and already correctly guessed what this story is about XD. If this gets any reviews/favs/favourites/a few views I will be more likely to continue it. I apologize for this chapter being a little sloppy, it takes me a little while to get into a story but this should have more action as of the next chapter. The BF5 characters are easier to put into character than the other fandom I write for, and I apologize for any little grammar slip ups in this story. Thank you for reading, and if you do like what I have so far, please review to tell me what you think, don't be strangers :D_**


	2. Bitten

_**When I posted the first chapter of this story, it didn't get many views or attention so I wasn't planning on making updating it a priority, but because I got three reviews last week giving me nothing but positive feedback and asking me to continue, I got motivation to write this next chapter as that has actually never happened before XD. I hope those who reviewed enjoy this chapter and continue to review and read as the story continues as your opinion really matters to my writing! There is a plot that unfolds in this chapter and now you will definitely be able to see what the team can't if you didn't get the hint already in the title of this story. I can almost definitely say that this story will continue now, but it may take me another near month to post the next chapter. Read and review! Enjoy!**_

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The scout reacted quickly by accelerating during the animal's jump, speeding out of reach so that its huge vice like maw chomped only thin air, its teeth making an awful clacking sound. It landed back on all fours with a thump, snarling.

"Uh, Vert?" he stuttered, looking at the crazed animal standing barely five metres away, "what do we do?"

"Do not make any sudden movements," Agura advised slowly as the biker froze in place, continuing to be stalked by the wolf. The whole pack was still as statues, eyes calculating until the tension was shattered like a mirror when a spear courtesy of the vandals skimmed the edge of Zoom's bike, sending the beasts into a frenzy.

"Scatter!" Vert yelled in worry as the pack stampeded towards the vehicles. Zoom was the first up the slope, followed by the rest of the team and pursued by the vandals and creatures. Speeding up back onto the winding paths, Vert almost immediately noticed that the zone creatures seemed to be avoiding the vandals. To elaborate, they were staying clear of the spear-wielding mutants and snapping at the bumpers of the battle force 5 vehicles.

"What do you think these mutts want!?" Zoom growled as he accelerated, the beast pursuing him yelping as the chopper's back tyre flicked grit and stones into its face.

"I think we disturbed their den," Agura answered, swerving out of the path of another beast, "we need to get out of their territory."

"That means keep your heads down and try to stick it out," Vert cut in, "try and push the vandals far enough back so they don't slipstream!"

Given the terrain, it was difficult for any of the vandals to pass the sentient vehicles to get to the key; at least that was in their favour. Had they not had coordinates on the portal, Vert doubted he would be able to see it beyond the never ending wall of identical trees. However, even though the vandals were not passing, they were battering the fleeing Battle Force 5 with long distance weapons. A fact that Vert was all too familiar with after having some of Kalus' crossbow arrows ricochet off of the saber. He felt some relief wash over him once they had passed through the 2nd clearing, and at the acknowledgement that Hatch had lost control in the fight and caused a pile up with his fellow mutants. Vert hoped it would be enough to prevent a portal slipstream. The wolves hadn't fallen far behind the team and when he saw a shape, small in the distance, this was what he judged it as. But when the shape began to bloat, Vert had to squint to see it clearly. He saw too late as a vandal vehicle came driving straight at him through his headlight beams. He swerved violently and so did the rest of the team, or so he thought. An awful squealing of brakes directed his attention to his right side, where he could see the rear end of the Reverb, careering around in the dirt. One of Krocomodo's barbed bolts had lodged itself firmly in one of the wheels, jamming it motionless. Vert cursed under his breath, and slowed too, coming to rest in a patch of thin shrub in front of Stanford.

As Krocomodo drove off in the other direction, the Brit leaned out of the roof of the car. "Fantastic! I just lost a wheel!" He revved the engine violently a few times, but the wheel was locked in place. Vert jumped out just as Stanford did, and they both froze in their tracks as a vandal horn, and an echo of howls filled the air. Vert began dispatching orders, no stranger to a tense situation. "Zoom, I want you to get that key back to earth. Spinner, Sherman, Agura, you're with me. We'll lead and lose the vandals."

"And what about me?" Stanford asked, a hint of agitation in his voice.

"Do what you can to get the Reverb moving, and then catch up with us," Vert responded, climbing back into the saber and speeding off, trusting his teammate to catch them up, even if endurance wasn't one of Stanford's qualities. Speeding back through the trees, there was no sign of any vandals, or peculiar battle zone creatures. This made him a little on edge, but then again Kalus could have run back to planet vandal with his tail between his legs.

The split group soon found themselves driving back into the ditch where they had found the key and the den, but that didn't surprise them. What did, was the fact that it was assumingly devoid of the creatures, like a fumigated wasps nest. "Do you see that?" Spinner said in awe.

"Yeah I see it," Vert whispered despite not having to need to keep quiet, "I just don't get it."

"Where could they have gone? There had to have been at least 20 of them earlier," Agura shuddered.

"What if they followed the vandals?" Spinner suggested. Agura shook her head.

"Not likely. They never sought the vandals out as prey previously. They must've found another target to-."

The realisation hit Vert just as quickly as it hit everyone else, Agura, in particular, let out an audible gasp. Two of their teammates were separated from the group, and on their own, and none of the creatures were around. A thought that brought a wave of worry over him. "I'm calling Zoom." He rushed to get the biker online and Zoom picked up relatively quickly. "Zoom! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Vert, nearly at the portal, why?" The scout sounded confused but casual. Vert's worry died down for a spell, but soon enough rose again. "I'll call you back." Vert disconnected and then tried to call Stanford. The call was put through, but the line was silent. Vert bit his lip.

Just as he was about to speak, all of a sudden, a high pitch squeal of a scream rang out. Loud enough to travel through both the radio and the wind. As it died down because of the feed cutting, a cold shiver moved up Vert's spine. The cry was of mainly pain, with shock behind it. It was human and familiar. All too familiar.

"That was Stanford!" Vert didn't even hesitate before turning the saber around and making a mad dash back towards where they had left him, thoughts racing through his mind about the vandals and the creatures. Rounding the last bend -the roof lights on the Tangler extending their vantage point lit something up. Getting closer, they recognised it as one of the creatures, the largest one or the presumable leader to be exact. And there was blood on its lips, a fact that they all noticed quickly. The vandals were brutal, but they commonly took prisoners alive, as they had a portion of the mind that was similar to that of a human. These things were just animals. Wild animals have no mercy for prey, whether it be for sport or survival. Vert felt his temper flare as he opened the blades of the saber, prepared to drive straight at the monster.

"Vert wait," he heard Agura's voice break through the urge he had to kill the beast that was standing in their headlights, licking what Vert could only assume was his friend's blood on its lips. "He's alive." Vert took his eyes of the creature for a second to look in the direction ahead of the tangler, a few yards away. The reverb and a figure sat up against it. Without hesitating, Vert drove past the animal and stopped beside the reverb, jumping out but not forgetting to take his sword for precautions. His car provided little light because of the angle it was at, so he had to squint to see Stanford properly. Even then, he couldn't see the full extent of the man's injuries, but he could already smell the aroma of blood. The light beams from the other vehicles shone onto them like a search light. He could see the eyes of some of the other creatures in the trees nearby, but none of them were moving. Vert looked back to Stanford and had to resist gagging.

"At least…he's alive," thought Vert. Saying that the man was relatively unharmed was a term to be used only because of what could have happened to him, and even then, it was used very loosely. He was sitting slumped up against the car, moaning in pain and cradling his arm. His pupils were dilated and Vert could see his chest rising and falling rapidly. The problems lay on his right arm, between the wrist and shoulder. Vert's eyes widened, it seemed like the creature had tried to rip his arm off. The creature's teeth had torn through his shock suit forearm and completely punctured the skin, ripping some of it away completely. Although the shock suit had taken most of the bite force (without it, his limb, or maybe even his life could have been lost) the teeth indents were deep and weeping blood and puss profusely. Most of his clothing on his right side was stained crimson, and the exposed flesh was near bone depth, yet thankfully the mutt's teeth had missed any vital veins and arteries.

"Stanford," He said softly, crouching down next to him. Stanford craned his neck towards Vert with pain etched on his features. He put a friendly hand on the man's shoulder and Stanford tensed up, whining in pain. He heard nearby footsteps and noticed Agura kneeling down next to them.

"Let me look," She encouraged, as the redhead begrudgingly moved his arm so that she could see it. Vert heard her gasp softly. "We need to get back to the hub. Fast." Vert noted the urgency. "That thing might have passed something on to him-."

"Oh bloody hell," Stanford stuttered, trying to stand up but failing as soon as he attempted to move his feet.

"You need to keep yourself calm Stanford, or you might end up going into Hypovolemic shock," Sherman advised and Stanford reluctantly slumped back down.

"Alright, Sherman, Agura, I need you to help me get Stanford back into the reverb. He's in no condition to drive so Spinner I'm counting on you to do that." Sherman's older brother went and sat in the driver's seat whilst Sherman and Vert tried to get Stan on his feet. The bigger man put his arm under Stanford's left arm whilst Vert supported the right side of his body, both trying to lift him. He whined in pain again, gritting his teeth. This continued until they managed to get him sitting on the car somehow.

"Just let go of me, will you!?" he snapped, brushing Sherman off with his good arm. Vert sighed. It was hard to see how much of Stanford's reaction was true pain and how much was the egotistical Brit rubbing it in, mainly because Stanford was always one of the first to scream at the top of his lungs at any sign of danger. As horrific as the wound was, Stanford was still complaining. If he was shocked into silence, then Vert would have been very worried, as silence wasn't a characteristic typical to Stanford. When he had finished snapping at Sherman, the man was able to lower him into the passenger seat. Stanford groaned once again and starting rubbing his arm again. Spinner gave him a half sympathetic look and then started up the car, following everybody else.

A short drive later, they were back on the salt flats, where zoom was waiting with the key. They drove straight back to the hub, Vert telling Sage to prepare the med bay in preparation for their arrival. When the Reverb pulled into the underground garage and Spinner jumped out, he was met with confused and somewhat worried looks from AJ, Tezz, and Sage. Spinner waited for Vert to come over and explain, zoom with him, carrying the key which seemed to be an embodiment of the zone they had just come from. A design like tree branches over a midnight backdrop. Sage took it from Zoom at first and then walked with Vert towards the reverb.

"He was bitten by some creatures in the battle zone, and his arm needs medical attention." Sage was calm at first but then became worried, passing the key back to Zoom and asking Stanford to get out so that she could take a better look. With the help of Agura and AJ, he was able to climb out, all the while complaining about how much a mess his car now was. Vert shook his head in disbelief. Stanford was more concerned about the droplets of blood on his passenger seat than the risk of getting an infection.

"I will have to give you a proper examination in the medical bay to determine the full extent of the damage," she said simply, beckoning Stanford along to the deeper regions of the hub. Vert told the other team members that he and sage would take care of it, but Agura and Tezz followed along with him (the scientist was curious about the situation and the huntress was generally concerned with Stanford's wellbeing) whilst the rest of the team went about their own business but stayed inside the hub for updates on the situation. When Sage got him seated in the lab, Vert snuck a stare at the mauled skin. The wound had started to glaze over with a layer of fluid that seemed to be cracking, giving the inference that it was extremely sore. A sharp yelp from Stanford brought Vert's attention back to now, where sage was taking a swab from the wound. She apologised to him, whilst Tezz started scrutinising the bite himself.

"Very intriguing," he said, Stanford scowling, "not many multiverse predators are known to attack in this kind of manner."

"Well it might be interesting to you, Tezz, but I fail to see what is intriguing about nearly having your arm chewed off!" Stanford snapped.

"Stanford, do you…remember what happened back there?" vert asked.

"When that abomination bit me?" Vert nodded.

"Well…I remember fixing the Reverb's wheel after that hit from the vandals and I wasn't watching my back-," Stanford paused, recounting his memory, "I could hear them growling and by the time I turned around, the biggest one had grabbed me by the arm. But it was really strange at the time-."

"You have lost a noticeable amount of blood. It would be abnormal for you not to be feeling strange," Tezz cut in but was met by what Vert could describe as a 'let me finish' glare from Stanford.

"It rag-dolled me for a few seconds and I thought I was a goner," Stanford continued, "but then it just dropped me and all of its friends just backed off and had no interest in me at all."

"Not many animals will just drop their kill like that," Agura added, "it is possible that they were hunting for sport or planning to come back later since you were already wounded," Agura shuddered at the thought. "Yet I haven't seen one creature in the data log information that resembles those creatures."

"There are many multiverse species that are unexplained by the data logs," Sage told them, "hopefully the analysis of the wound provides an answer to the question." She took up a vile of fluid and sprayed it on the flesh (Vert assumed it was disinfectant because of the face Stanford was making). She poured something else on it that seemed to stop the bleeding, dabbing at the sections of dirt and unneeded areas in the wound. "Until I check the results from that swab, which will take a few hours to process, I am uncertain, but I think that you will have no trouble with the healing process," Sage smiled a smile that Stanford couldn't manage, taking up some bandages to wrap the wound in. During the time when Sage was wrapping it, Vert and Tezz wandered out, knowing that Stanford was stable for now, but Agura stayed behind to give him a helping hand whilst Sage was dressing his wound and putting his arm in a sling. "If you proceed to feel any side effects later, please do come and tell me," the sentient finished, allowing him to leave the med bay. Agura followed him out and they were met by the rest of the team, including Spinner, who was asking non-stop questions purposely to get on Stanford's nerves.

"Hopefully you don't end up with fleas Stanford," the gamer joked, "or rabies." Stanford probably would have made a grab for him, had he not been trying to avoid any physical contact from AJ so that he could protect his arm. Agura shook her head as she watched him scurry off to his room to rest and get away from Spinner's jokes.


	3. The first night

**_New chapter! Thanks for being patient! Authors note: The rating has been upped to a T because of violence/blood and mild language mostly on Stanford's part. Thanks to_** FoxyKhai0209 **_for reviewing the last chapter, and don't worry, I do intend to continue writing with this story unless I get shot down by writers block. If you want to, please review as I would love to know what you think! I put a little more effort into characterisation in this chapter and since I'm using grammarly now, you shouldn't find any annoying mistakes. The plot continues to unfold, and by the end of the chapter, you should have an idea of where this might end up going. Battle force 5 doesn't belong to me, enjoy this chapter!_**

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"Wha? Again! How are you so good at this!?" Spinner cried. "It took Vert WEEKS to figure out my combo move!"

Tezz merely chuckled. "Any technological genius would be able to figure out a simple circuit platforming game." Spinner just stared whilst Agura and Zoom rolled their eyes. Spinner threw down his controller and folded his arms, staring down the game over screen on the TV. "I'm tired of this! Can't we go to Zeke's or something?".

"We have to wait for Stanford, he might want to come with-," Vert started.

"Since when do we wait for Stanford so we can do anything? It's past noon already!" Spinner huffed, turning off the game console.

"He can't drive remember?" Vert added, "and in truth a feel a little bad about what happened yesterday."

"Dude, this is Stanford we're talking about," Zoom laughed, "he'll bounce back eventually."

"Zoom's right, he'll be back to his boastful, annoying self in no time," Agura sighed.

"Excuse me?" They all turned heads to see the center of their conversation looking back at them with an offended expression.

"See?" Zoom chuckled. Stanford looked far less traumatized than he had been the previous night. His arm was still in the same sling that sage had put it in. Stanford himself looked tired, with dark circles under his eyes, and a flatter fohawk than usual.

Vert walked over to Stanford and put a hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted," he yawned, rubbing his head.

"Ready to hit Zeke's?" Vert asked.

"I guess," he said slowly.

"Some coffee will do you good," Vert said confidently, "we'll drive you up there."

Vert climbed out of the Saber to see Spinner standing next to the reverb whilst Agura was helping Stanford to climb out. Once Stanford had climbed down safely, Vert opened up the door to the diner, the bell above the door ringing. He held the door open for his teammates and they filed in, sitting in their usual booth. The diner was the least lively during the day, so there were only one or two other customers, all people they had seen before on a regular basis. Grace came to serve their table quickly, as a result, and immediately noticed Stanford's sling.

"So Stanford, broken an arm?" She asked curiously.

Stanford looked down at it but caught himself as he was about to speak, thinking. "Just an accident at the test track luv. It's nothing major at all," he dismissed. She smiled and then turned to take everyone's orders.

"Two large pizzas, two small, a club sandwich, some soda and a coffee please Grace," Vert listed as the waitress then moved back behind the counter. Grace returned two minutes later with the drinks, and then later on with the food.

"Not eating today Stanford?" Grace asked, watching him slowly sip his coffee. He shook his head meagrely. "I'll go and get the bill for you guys," she said, walking away.

"Dude, I've never seen you so quiet," Zoom chuckled.

"If your arm is bothering you, you should go talk to Sage. You know what she said about side effects," Vert whispered.

"I feel fine," Stanford confessed, "my arm is only a little sore, but I can't shake this strange feeling it's giving me."

"Strange feeling?" Vert asked, "Stan, it might just be the shock-."

"No, I mean, it's like I feel stronger."

Spinner laughed. "Maybe you should go and see Sage, Stanford."

The man scowled and took another sip of his drink.

"Is there anything anomalous Sage?" Vert asked. He had dragged his teammate along to see Sage anyway, despite him protesting that he was fine.

"There is nothing that would suggest or cause worry. In fact, it is quite the opposite," the sentient responded positively. "Stanford's wound is healing much faster than expected." He too had noticed that. For an attack that happened not even 24 hours ago, it was remarkably clearer. The wound had clotted well and decreased in surface area noticeably. "As I have little knowledge on the what it could be that attacked Stanford, this may be a normal process," she turned to Stanford. "I have also investigated the results of your blood test, and they show no signs of any viruses or bacteria that would pose a threat to you." Stanford breathed a sigh of relief.

The blue sentient suddenly paused, her eyes hollowing. "Sage?" Vert asked.

"Storm shock approaching."

Vert swiftly jogged out of the med bay with Stanford trailing behind as he made it onto the platform where the saber and other vehicles were parked. The rest of the team were making their way down as he prepped the vehicle, Sage included.

"This battle zone may be just as dangerous as the one you experienced yesterday. Aftershocks from solar activity may render you in a rare battle zone. Please be cautious," she informed.

"Agura, grab the fuser, Stanford, AJ, you guys are staying behind, everyone else gear up!"

Everyone else got seated in their vehicles and drove off, Sage watching as always. She turned to the team members that had stayed to see a slight scowl on Stanford's face. Before she could cut in, AJ gave him a rough nudge and an attempted noogie.

"Cheer up buddy! At least you'll get an awesome looking scar," AJ laughed as Stanford mumbled under his breath and tried to get away from the Canadian. "I've broken my arm twice from snowmobile accidents. In fact, I still have the x rays, wanna see?"

"I'd rather not," Stanford sighed, lacking the enthusiasm that the bigger man had. He pushed his aside and strode off to a different area in the vast base. AJ just smiled and then moved down to the kitchen area to get a snack and then move to the sofa to occupy himself by watching TV as he figured the gearslammer wouldn't have much use going around the test track by itself. About half an hour to forty-five minutes later, he heard who he presumed was Stanford come in and start rummaging about in the cupboards.

"Watcha doin' Stan?" he asked. The Brit turned around with his hand still stretched into the cupboard.

"Just need to grab a drink. I'm going into town for a few hours."

"Do you need a lift?"

"No thanks mate, Grace offered to pick me up," he said, grabbing what he needed and leaving.

"See ya later." AJ settled back down into the sofa cushions and flicked channels, relaxed. He didn't even realize that he had fallen asleep at some point until the movie he had suddenly been watching was now into the shopping channel, the lights were all off except in the corridor to the kitchen, where he could hear someone talking.

"Stan?" He yawned, trying to sit up.

"AJ? What are you still doing up?" It was Vert.

"Must've fallen asleep watching TV," he sighed, looking at the clock. 2am. "How was the mission?"

"Luckily Sage was wrong about any rare battle zones," Vert sighed in relief, probably because of what happened the night before, "had to deal with Krytus and his posy, so it took a while."

AJ stood up, looking him up and down. Vert was still wearing his shock suit, and he looked stressed. "Glad it worked out, I'm going up to bed."

"Goodnight man," Vert yawned, running his hand through his hair. "I won't be far behind you."

Despite AJ's late night thought about training, the training test track was alive the very next morning, the sound of engines and screeching tires prominent as the cars raced around it under the midday sun.

"Vert is really ripping up the track," Zoom commented, wiping his brow free of sweat and dirt whilst Agura watched from next to him with a pair of sentient binoculars.

"No kidding, I think we're about ready to start practicing with the fusion technology."

"I'm surprised that the cars aren't fusing with the asphalt! It's like a sauna out here!" AJ commented, despite his vehicle sporting a mini fan and air conditioner which were both turned on at this time.

"It is the middle of summer," Agura added, watching as a vulture passed overhead. One of the few creatures that could stand the heat of the desert.

"Are there any seasons in a desert?" Zoom asked with a laugh. "It makes even me think about ice battle zones."

"What I wouldn't give for one of them right now eh?" AJ sighed, but then relived the statement as Stanford walked out onto the track, carrying an iced drink. He wasn't wearing his shocksuit, but his arm was no longer in a sling. Just a thick bandage that covered his lower arm.

"What time did you get back last night dude?" AJ asked. "I don't remember you coming back."

"I don't remember coming back to the hub, or what time it was," he admitted, "time flies when you're royal."

Agura groaned and rolled her eyes. "You surely can't be healing that quickly," Agura remarked as he walked up and leaned against the side of the gearslammer.

"Would you believe that Sage said I am," he returned with a similar tone, taking a sip of his drink.

"You're still not fit enough to take part in training, though."

"It's not like I wanted to."

"Well then, you can help me power up the test track weapon system."

Stanford seemed to pause and then squint into the distance behind Agura. "Best not to power that up now. We've got an uninvited guest," he growled.

Agura turned around to look and saw a familiar sight of a monochrome vehicle and flashing lights, the sound of sirens filling her ears. "Vert," she talked through her com, "Sheriff Johnson is here." She heard him speak a firm "what?" back as the police officer pulled up outside the chain link fence, got out of his car and beckoned them over. Agura sighed and made her way over, Stanford and Zoom following her. As they reached the fence, they could see that he was agitated and frowned. The sheriff also looked abnormally stressed as his hat and badge were askew as if he had dressed in haste and he had a notebook and pen in is hand. The saber rolled slowly across the dirt as Vert pulled up next to the fence.

"Sheriff Johnson, what seems to be the problem?" Vert asked formerly, hiding slight annoyance. "We aren't doing anything illegal or-."

"I'm not here for any of you young hooligans," he said, "I need some witness statements."

Vert and Agura exchanged glances. "Witness statements? What for?" By now the rest of the team had come over to see what the officer had to say.

"Something attacked town last night," The sheriff adjusted his sunglasses on his nose. "A creature." A few pairs of eyes widened a fraction.

"An animal?" Agura asked, "What kind?"

"We do not have any reports at the station currently that tell us what this nuisance is," he admitted, "but from what we do have, there have been no deaths or injuries, but substantial property damage. Leading to the point, were any of you in town last night? Seen anything strange?" All eyes went to Stanford.

"I remember being out until early evening, but I can't tell you anything more. Sir. I saw nothing."

The sheriff grumbled. "That is…unfortunate. This creature attacked sometime in the early hours of the morning, as those who were awake and brave enough to look describe seeing a large creature tearing through the streets and hollering at the sky. Some folks say it was something like a bear."

"A bear?" Spinner laughed, "no bears live in the desert."

"If you ask me, it's an escaped zoo animal or some idiot illegally keeping an unlicensed wild animal on their land," he growled, "now if you'll excuse me, I'll be leaving. I have work to do." As fast as he got there, the man climbed back into the police cruiser and sped off in the direction the town.

Vert frowned. Confused, but with curiosity tugging at him. "Let's check it out, guys."


	4. Aftermath

**_I'm on a roll with this story! 2 chapters within 2 weeks. I must be really motivated. Thanks for the support from_** FoxyKhai0209 **_and_** InternationalChoclate **_reviewing the last chapters. Again, if you see any mistakes, please don't hesitate to point them out if you think something is wrong in here. My writing programs are clashing here so its a bit messed up. I wrote this chapter on a notebook app on my phone but then checked it with Grammarly. When I copied it into Microsoft word, I found that it had missed bits, and the spelling that grammarly had corrected was clashing with it because Grammarly is a US program whilst word on my computer is set to UK spelling and grammar, so I have to keep googling for the right one. Word has new updates, and likes to change my long connectives/conjuctions into one word things like changing 'this particular one' into 'one' or 'as long as' into 'if' which is really annoying. But enough of my ranting. On with the story!_**

 ** _On a side note, I keep forgetting this, but the cover for this story is not mine, I have had permission to use it from: www . lucernne . deviantart (without the spaces inbetween), so please check out their work._**

* * *

Vert cruised through the desert at a low speed, assuming the rest of the team were not far behind him. As he drove through the dust and baking air, he could make out the diner, or rather the north side of it that backed no other scene than the horizon, that was currently a quivering mirage in the sun. As he passed over the worn asphalt next to the diner, the glance he was able to get before he passed it by saw no signs of an attack. He soon saw the town and its main roadway entrance, that he soon noticed was blocked off with police tape. He swerved off road once again and drove cautiously around one of the buildings and onto the Main Street and rolled to a stop. He climbed out and as soon as his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he was disturbed by what he saw.

Sheriff Johnson's description of the attack was wrong. It had to be. No earth native creature that Vert knew of, could cause this much damage. If it could be compared, it would be to the work of an elephant, as cars were askew and dented harshly and heavy objects had been torn from their rightful place and tossed aside. Yet the culprit clearly wasn't said animal. Elephants weren't capable of leaving claw marks. Let alone ones that could scar metal and brickwork with lightening like gashes and by some miracle that they could, they definitely couldn't leave skull sized teeth indents that punctured several inches deep. The work of fangs.

Vert was relieved that he wasn't going crazy, because when a rumbling occurred and the buster pulled up, the Cortez brothers' eyes were the size of dinner plates as they scanned over the damage.

"Whoa," Zoom commented, "looks like an animal tornado came through here."

"No kidding," Vert said in awe.

"I think Sheriff Johnson has been drinking WAY too much coffee if he thinks a bear did this!" Spinner cried, gesturing to the scene in front of them.

"Which brings us to the question," Agura cut in, "what did?" She then looked to the side as the sound of another engine could be heard, and the sound of loud music. They watched as the reverb came swerving around the corner, driving a little too erratically for their liking.

Stanford's hair was visible out the top of the car first and then his whole body as he saw the devastation. "Blimey!"

"I thought Sage said driving was out of the question until you healed?" Agura questioned.

"Well according to Sage, it would be beneficial for me to exercise my limb as long as I don't strain it on a fight," he replied matter of factly.

"Yeah, well whatever, just don't crash your boombox on wheels into me."

Stanford scowled at her.

"Let's take a look around guys," Vert cut in. "See if you can find anything else that might tell us what this thing is." They split up, with Vert proceeding to take the central town route. The street was filled with police tape, cruisers - some of which were from other districts and civilians attempting to clean up the damage. The damage seemed symmetrical on this street and it was a wonder no people had been hurt. That probably wouldn't last.

He turned down a side street to see Agura and Stanford parked outside a shop. This particular one belonged to the butcher and it was the most damaged. The front of the shop was nearly gone and the creature had obviously gone inside and gorged on the shop's stock, leaving nothing behind.

Agura turned to him, "looks like this thing is carnivorous."

"Not good," Vert sighed "the townsfolk might end up on the menu next." He was going to continue, but he was stopped when he looked at Stanford. The man was ghostly pale, frozen and staring at the shop window.

"Stanford, buddy?" Vert's voice snapped him out of his trance. "You okay?"

"I...I think so," he muttered. "Something doesn't feel right."

"Enlighten us," Agura muttered.

He seemed to carry on without taking knowledge to her comment. " Like I'm forgetting something... it's like... deja vu."

Agura just shook her head whilst Vert asked: "Do you think you saw the creature last night?"

"I... don't know."

"Well whilst you recall your memory Mr skeptical..." Agura started, "I'm gonna go talk to some of the townsfolk."

Vert got back into the saber, shrugging off Stanford's out of character mood. With the latter following, he drove back onto the Main Street, where the rest of the team were. "Any luck?"

"I think that creature may not be from earth at all," Sherman said.

"I agree," Agura said over the radio, "I just talked to Grace. She says she thinks she saw it rooting through the bins outside her apartment."

"Did she give you a description?"

"A brief one. She said she got up and went to look outside because the noise woke her up. She said that from her 3rd-floor window, it looked like no animal she'd ever seen. Something big and hairy with glowing eyes."

"I have a theory," Sherman started.

"Go on," Vert allowed.

"What if that creature has slipped streamed through a battle zone portal?"

Vert bit his lip. That was possible. And it wouldn't be the first time it had happened. "We should take some photos of the damage. Sage might be able to identify what it is."

"I am sorry Vert, but from just these images alone, I cannot successfully conclude what it is," Sage said, looking over the photos.

"But do you think it came out of a storm shock?"

"It seems highly probable." Vert and the rest of the team exchanged glances.

"Did you see any creatures in the zone yesterday?" He asked them. Everybody either shook their heads or frowned. He frowned too. "And the day before..."

"Those mutts were attacking us," Sherman concluded.

"Do you think one of them could have followed you guys out?" AJ asked.

"Those wolf things? Albeit they are aggressive little buggers, surely one couldn't cause this much damage."

"Maybe more than one got out?" Zoom theorized.

"If it is them, we know they are hostile to humans," Vert replied, his eyes glancing over at Stanford and then resting on Agura. "Do you think you could trap it?"

"We wouldn't need to," she said confidently. "If that is what's causing the damage, it is way out of its normal habitat and handler's corners is its only good food source for miles, so it is likely to return in the night."

"What do you suggest Agura?"

"We plan a stakeout. We wait for it to come back and then drive it back where it came from."

"Sounds like a plan," Zoom said.

"Okay, so we go into town at sundown and sit pretty waiting for it to come back. Stanford, Zoom you two will wait at the base as backup. Stanford, you may be well enough to drive, but we may have to use force, especially if there is more than one. And Zoom, we don't need you getting bitten either."

"Gladly," Stanford smiled. "I'd much rather do some repairs on the reverb than deal with getting bitten by any more mangy animals."

* * *

As the sun began to slip behind the cliffs of crash canyon and the population went indoors, the team were steadfast, ready for a possible attack. Each car was parked in a cosy side alley or parallel parked in the street with engines off as not to arouse suspicion and invite the target in. Although everyone was silent and poised, Vert could hear a prominent chomping coming from his monitor.

"Spinner, couldn't you have left the pizza back at the hub?" Vert asked.

"I'm a nervous eater," the gamer replied, "and besides, we needed stake out food."

"Then couldn't you share some big bro?"

"Guys," Agura cut in, "don't get distracted. This thing could show up at any second."

"Agura's right, we need to be careful," Vert added.

"We've fought killer robots, mutant animals, and ferocious red sentiments," Spinner listed, "we're way past careful Vert."

Vert had to chuckle. "I guess so. But I still don't want one of those things taking a chunk out of my arm."

"Vert, you have a sword. And besides, even Stanford seems to be able to make a remarkable recovery."

Vert thought about that. He didn't like to be rude, but Stanford wasn't exactly the bravest of the off the odd bunch. Neither was he amongst the most resourceful. If he could recover from being rag-dolled by a wolf within a week, surely that should put him at ease. Yet it didn't.

"Yeah, how did Stan heal so quickly from that?" AJ asked. "It took me weeks to heal completely when my friend's German Shepard bit me. And that was only teeth marks!"

"I have to agree with Spinner and AJ's interesting query," Tezz interrupted. "It is, as you say, a shame that I never got to see the creatures for myself. I could have studied them thoroughly, as, like many multiverse creatures, they have interesting properties that may equate for Stanford's fast healing capabilities."

Spinner rolled his eyes and groaned. "You still manage to talk about science when we're talking about Stanford?"

"Either way, I am eager to see the appearance of this creature."

* * *

Soon the radio chatter came to silence as the night fell. The roof was azure sky and the full moon was resting high above, beaming a blanket of silver down on the town. Vert was sure that some of his teammates had fallen asleep as he could hear snoring through the radio. He called out softly into the device, only to get responses from just Agura and Tezz. They alone sounded fatigued and everyone else's silence made it seem kind of serene, like the adrenaline they were hoping for, had dissipated completely. The silence of the desert at night lulled him into a sense of unawares, to where he was just watching the stars above him. Somewhere out there in that vast blue were several planets that he had been to. Each one lightyears away. It was daunting to think about since to them they were only a portal skip away. Vert put his arms behind his head and tried to stretch out. The saber held little room for comfort when not being driven, but he still seemed to find himself content resting there and looking out of the roof into the stars.

"Battle force 5! Alert!" Sage's voice boomed through the car, snapping him out of his peaceful thoughts. Everyone else reacted just the same. Wincing or jumping as they woke with a start. "The creature has breached the hub!" Vert realized what she had said in a shot and informed everyone else quickly before stomping on the gas and going full speed towards the hub. Everyone else followed, still slightly sluggish. The situation had just gone from bad, to worse.


	5. Home strike

**_This chapter is a short and sweet one, but the next few should have a lot of description and action, so don't worry. Enjoy_**

* * *

Vert and the team pulled into the hub not five minutes later, entering the underground base fearing the worst. If this thing had found a way into the hub, it could wreck everything they'd worked so hard to create and protect, not to mention that this thing could potentially kill three of his friends if they were unable to escape it in time. They could figure out how it got inside later but right now, he had to defend them. With a quick glance, the hub looked fine, but he didn't let his eyes deceive him. He jumped out of the Saber with his heart in his throat, ran onto the control platform and was thankful at first, but then his heart dropped as although he was met by the sight of an unharmed Zoom and a worried looking Sentient – he couldn't see Stanford anywhere. As he reached Sage and Zoom, everybody else had joined him on the platform.

"Where is it?" Vert almost demanded.

"My sensors tripped after scanners reported a trespasser on the test track, followed by damage in the upstairs vicinity of the garage," Sage started.

"Don't worry Sage, we'll catch it before it gets away," Vert said, his eyes narrowing.

"The situation is contained for now Vert. I was able to remotely close the garage door, so I am confident that-"

"We've trapped psycho pooch in the garage," Zoom finished

"What about Stanford? Where is he?" Vert asked.

"Haven't seen him," Zoom slightly shivered, "he was upstairs earlier, but I don't know if he's there still."

"My scanners do not indicate that the reverb is in the repair garage," Sage confirmed.

"He might have hightailed it out of here when the mutt showed up," Vert suggested, "but right now, we need to focus on restraining this thing and getting it back through a portal."

* * *

"So what's the plan?" Spinner asked nervously, the whole team were parked in a semi-circle around the dark, silent building.

"I'll go to the door and see if I can see it. If it's in there, we need to form a barrier before Sage can let it out. Surprise it with your full beams and then drive it out into the desert. Do not let it go in the direction of town. Once we get it far enough into the desert, Agura, I'm counting on you to open a portal so that we can drive it into the zone," Vert explained, gesturing to the Battle key on the front of the Tangler. He stepped out of the Saber, armed with his sword and began edging his way to the door.

"Vert, be careful," Agura warned. Vert reached the door and stood tall so that he was just about high enough to look through one of the glass gaps in the door.

"Can you see anything?" Spinner asked.

"The power is out," Vert said, squinting into the room. "I can't see any- WHOA!" Vert yelled and stumbled back in surprise as a large green eye met his through the glass. Spinner screamed. Vert stumbled back into the sand as a bloodcurdling howl pierced the silence of the night.

"Get out of there Vert!" Agura yelled as the door to the garage began to dent outwards as the creature desperately tried to escape the building.

Vert jumped into the Saber as the beast roared furiously, slashing and banging against the door.

"That won't hold it for long!" Spinner cried as the electrics in the door began to spark as it was forced open.

"It should hold," Tezz leaned over his steering instruments to get a better look, " but it seems this creature is stronger than even I could anticipate." Agura rolled her eyes. The door gave one last sickening crack and then it began to open. Everyone went silent and as the door began to open upwards slowly, their headlights revealed a dark shape with reflective, wide eyes. Spinner once again screamed. The creature began uttering a low growling sound that grew louder into a snarl of which the creature ended by throwing its head back and howling, forcing everybody else to clamp their hands over their ears and wince in response to the painful sound. Before they had a chance to recover, the beast charged, forcing its way out and into the open. All the team saw was a flash of ginger fur as it leaped over their vehicle blockade and bounded off into the desert.

"After it!" Vert commanded as he turned the Saber around and sped after the monster. He was initially surprised at how fast the creature was but he soon managed to catch sight of it running towards the canyon. Good. It was staying away from the town for now. "Sherman, I could use a status update right now!"

"This is good," Sherman replied, "we should be able to corner it somewhere."

"You heard Sherman. Split up and take separate paths, block it in. Tezz, AJ, I want you two to head back towards the hub in case this thing decides to take a detour."

The path Vert had taken was narrow, but he had managed to drive through without any scrapes.

"I can't see anything where I am. Sherman, Spinner, what about you guys?" Agura asked through the radio.

"That's because I can see it," Zoom said quietly.

"Don't engage it," Vert told him, worried, "we'll be at your location as fast as we can." He turned around as best he could and made his way to the chopper's location on radar. "Don't worry Vert, it doesn't seem interested in me. It's trying to climb out of the canyon."

Indeed, it was. Vert made it around the corner just as Agura did and looked at Zoom. He followed the biker's pointing finger up the steep incline and sure enough, there it was, climbing up the rocks. Vert squinted. From the near vertical view, he could make out that this creature did look like a wolf or huge dog of some sorts. The extra noise must have distracted it as it turned its great head and Vert was once again met with those bewildering green eyes. The creature continued to try and struggle up the cliff, knocking a few small rocks loose that fell with a clatter, landing close to them, giving him and idea.

"Agura, do you think you could aim your winch at that thing and knock some rocks loose to cause a rockfall to knock it down?"

Agura drove forward, with concentration clear on her features. She aimed and fired with clear intentions, hitting the rock face just below the creature's feet. It slipped, but it didn't fall. It looked at them and snarled, narrowing its eyes before trying once again to escape its predicament. Agura shot at it again, only to miss as it scrambled up the last portion of the cliff. Agura sighed in frustration.

"We'll go around and cut it off," Vert growled, now slightly angry with the situation. The cliff face that it had just climbed jutted out of the ground like a huge monolith, so following the creature by climbing was out of the question. He led the team around up over the raised portion of desert behind the maze of cliffs. It was the same place as where they fought Zemerik and his minions when Handler's corners was teleported into a battle zone. It was an empty space, so Vert was filled with dread when he saw that nothing was occupying it. "Where could it have gone?" he mumbled to himself. His visibility was somewhat impeded in the Saber, so he got out and looked about. The sky had changed from azure to a dark indigo, but the stars and brilliant full moon were still present. The moon and car headlights lit up the sandy dirt and the emptiness beyond. His train of thought was cut out by a loud voice coming from his wrist.

"Vert, we've got news man." AJ's voice crackled through the radio.

"The creature?" Vert asked. Surely it hadn't reached the hub already?

"This thing has totally destroyed your garage man, power's out and all your projects are trashed, sorry man."

Vert cursed under his breath. This thing was in for a world of hurt. "We've lost the creature. It climbed a cliff and now we can't see it anywhere."

"Bummer. Tezz found the reverb out on the test track, but there's no sign of Stanford." That raised some major red flags. An abandoned reverb and Stanford nowhere in sight with a man-eater on the loose didn't seem like an optimistic outcome.

"You don't see him anywhere?"

"Sorry Vert, the guy just isn't around."

"Vert?" Vert turned his head to the person that had called him. Agura was crouched down in front of the tangler, tracing her hands over the floor.

"What is it?" He asked, making his way to her.

"We've got tracks." Vert looked over her shoulder and frowned when he saw the pawprints. Yes, they were helpful, but they were huge. They looked like dog prints, but the size was much closer to a bear, perhaps even larger than that. They came from the edge of the cliff and lead down to them. The tracks then continued under the tangler and down the slope. "It snuck past us?"

"It seems so," Agura agreed.

"So now we're following a smart mad mutt?" Spinner asked.

"It's smart alright," Vert growled. "But that doesn't mean we're giving up." A loud howl sounded like a siren in the night air once again. "New plan," Vert said, "same as before but use force if you have to. We don't need people getting hurt."

* * *

"I don't see that fleabag anywhere, and it's been hours," Spinner commented. The buster and the rest of the team vehicles were parked out by the diner, which was now dark and empty at a quarter to five in the morning although the sky was beginning to lighten.

"Not good," Agura sighed, "If we lose this thing into the desert, we might never find it again."

"Yeah, not until it starts attacking people all over the state and the police get involved."

That statement worried all of them. If the police did find this thing, it would surely be shot. It was highly unlikely that it would possible to trace it back to the team. However, it meant that they had for the first time: failed their mission. A danger had gotten through the stormshock and they had currently been unable to stop it.

"Battle Force 5, have you been able to trace the creature?" Sage's curious voice buzzed through their watches.

"Sorry Sage," Vert breathed, "we've lost it."

"I regret to inform you that you will have to continue your search later. I have sensed a storm shock portal."

He cursed under his breath. "Sherman, spinner, I'm leaving you guys here to keep the situation here under control. Since Stanford isn't here," Vert sighed, annoyed and tired, "everyone else, we're heading into the zone." Everybody else's reactions were similar. He could relate. Hunting a multizone creature and fighting evil aliens all in one day without any sleep. He would need to have a very long 'chat' with Stanford when he surfaced again. Abandoning such responsibilities was not a thing to be taken lightly.


	6. Supernatural Reality

_**Now the action starts. As the title suggests, the situation is about to go onto a new level. I am thankful of everyone who reviews this chapter. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Vert growled in frustration as he dodged another crossbow bolt from Kalus. "Give up subspecies!"

"Back off Kalus!" Agura snapped, knocking Kalus off the road with a swipe of one of the tangler's leg like axels. The battle zone they were fighting in was challenging enough, but with the team already worse for wear, this had already been a long fight. The zone was dominated by tall rock spirals that had spiralling, drivable paths cut out of them. The largest of the cone rocks nearly touched the clouds and held the battle key at its point. However, the vandals had shown up to claim this zone, which tips the balance more so than if they would have had to fight it out with the red sentients for the key. The situation going on back home could possibly take lives, but the situation here would cause a

disaster just as equal, or even greater, so both situations couldn't be ignored. It was their duty to protect people. An event happening around them reminded them just that – Hatch had spun out after a hit from Tezz's ray and knocked into the fragile stone wall barrier. Had it made a greater impact, the vandal would have broken through and fallen to the ground far below. They had to leave AJ at the bottom of the structure for fear that the gearslammer would be too large for the fragile paths.

Zoom was currently at the front of the operation because the chopper was better at managing the sharp turns and would have no problem if it was knocked off the side of the mountain. The key was about 10 more spiral loops away and Kalus and his crew knew it – they were battering the team like never before. From the ground, the top of the structure seemed to be almost at a point, but once the height was reached, the illusion dissipated and it seemed the top was a circle of around arena size, with the key positioned right in the centre. Zoom accelerated to try and reach it but was intercepted by Sever, the shark vandal's vehicle's attack mechanism chomping at his rear tire, the gears and mechanisms in it clanking and grinding.

"Oh boy, I am not in the mood for seafood right now," Zoom complained as he lapped the circle with Sever following.

"What about if we fry that fish?" Vert quipped as the saber's blades hit the vandal and knocked him onto a lower platform. Zoom couldn't help but laugh a little. Vert took the key, the trophy firmly on the front of the car, only to find the vandals regrouping around them. "We've got they key, everyone form evasive manoeuvres, try and get back to the portal?" Vert changed his com frequency, "AJ, I need you to wait at the bottom of the pass in case the vandals manage to get past us."

"No problem dude" was the reply from the Canadian as Vert dodged a hit from Hatch's scarab. Watching the insect vandal's weapon meant that he was taken by surprise when Krocomodo rammed him, allowing Kalus to take the key.

"No!" he yelled angrily, stamping down on the accelerator in an attempt to catch up with him, the rest of the team trying to stop sever who was trying to sandwich him in next to the wall. An electromagnetic blow from Tezz stopped them, but Kalus was nearly halfway down the mountain, and there wasn't much room to pass other vehicles. Vert was almost at the point where he wanted to call it a day and quit. Sometimes, he had to remind himself just how important his job was, especially in situations like this one. Relief didn't just come in thought, though, as once they rounded the last turn, there was a loud horn and an almighty bang. Vert was showered in relief when he saw that Kalus had run straight into the plough on the front of the gearslammer, dropping the key. Although AJ was a new recruit, he was widely appreciated. He couldn't say the same for Stanford right now. He really picked his moments to be on an arrogant streak. Taking the key back and thanking AJ, he led the team back towards the portal.

Once they got back to the hub, he realized that despite his anger at Stanford, the sticky desert heat and bright sun – sleep was in his best interest and he planned to make room for a few hours of shuteye before the town beast came out to prowl at dusk. It hadn't shown its gruesome, mutant face in the sun, ever so they were hoping on an assumption that it preferred to stalk its prey under the moonlight, like a werewolf. That made him shudder a little. Well, either that or the fact that they hadn't even stopped off to pick up food because of how tired they were. However, ironically, that was literally the definition of a werewolf in all the horror flicks he had cared to watch in his time. A huge, hairy, drooling, destructive monster. Yet this beast wasn't CGI – it was all too real. It was still on his mind even once he slumped down on his bed to rest, its green eyes, as bright as headlights, shining through him. Where could it be hiding during the day? How did it manage to slipstream behind them? These were all questions in his head as he fell into the world of sleep.

* * *

Vert woke with a start. He would have taken in a huge gasp of air in surprise had his mouth not been completely parched. He sat up from his position on top of the covers and looked at the clock. 18:00. That rounded time panicked him. He rushed to a window and looked outside. The sun was starting to climb down towards the horizon, the sky starting to blend into pastel colours. "Of all the times to oversleep…" He muttered dryly, giving his tousled hair a quick comb over so that he was presentable to go elsewhere. He didn't bother sprucing up too much, as he assumed he wasn't the only one who had overslept. He headed down the halls to find everyone else but bumped into Agura on the way down. She stopped, greeted and smiled at him.

Another thought wandered through his head, "Have you seen Stanford? I need to have a word with him before we go out wolf hunting."

Agura neither nodded or shook her head. "I didn't see him, but Spinner talked to him I think. Said he'd gone out for a drive with Grace," Agura admitted as Vert sighed angrily. It made his blood boil.

"I wished he'd just stop ditching us for his own activities when we need him," Vert muttered. "Ever since that thing bit him, he's been acting really strange."

"Strange? Vert, this Stanford we're talking about," Agura remarked sarcastically.

Vert sighed once again, "I guess you're right, but I'm serious. He'd better have a reason for disappearing. It makes our job that much harder."

"Hey, you've got a difficult job," Agura smiled, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't be able to do it without you guys," He smiled back.

"Yeah, but you're responsible bringing us all together." Agura blushed slightly.

"Battle force 5, report to briefing immediately!" Vert and Agura looked at each other, Vert mentally facepalming at the inconvenient timing.

"Storm shock?" Agura asked as they turned and made their way to the lift.

"Don't think so," Vert admitted, "she sounded pretty worried."

Once they reached the downstairs facility after the lift docked and the doors opened, Sage came running towards them.

"We must get everyone here!" She ordered with a very worried tone. There had only been a few times when they had seen her so upset and panicked.

"What's going on Sage!?"

"Has there been a breach?"

She didn't answer, and rushed back to her station and started typing on the quantum computer with a worried expression. Soon, everyone else on the team excluding Stanford had come down to join them. Sage ignored their questions for a few minutes and just continued working. Worried and confused, Vert gently grasped her shoulder and turned her around to the rest of the group. She looked sorry like there was something she had to tell them.

"The situation is now critical," Sage warned. She received an array of worried and confused expressions. "I-I did not think to check the hub's surveillance footage from the attack…"

"Sage-."

She continued. "I thought they had all been destroyed…"

"Sage, just tell us what's wrong."

Sage's eyes traced along the floor as she went silent for a brief period and then looked back at Vert anxiously. When Vert thought she was about to answer, she turned around once again and he looked over her shoulder to see what she was up to. She pulled up an image of some ancient sentient hieroglyphics and then a photo. Although it was dark, the bright eyes and huge shape made a link between the two. The numbers in the bottom corner of the second image indicated it was CCTV footage. He pointed to the screen.

"Yeah, that's our monster alright Sage but-."

"I didn't realize that these were the creatures that you came across."

"So, they've got a bad reputation?" Zoom asked, trying to break the fragile ice forming in Sage's eyes.

"That is definitely one of the creatures from the battle zone Sage," Vert assured.

"No," Sage said somewhat sadly, "I'm afraid this scenario is much worse." Now everyone was quiet, waiting for her to continue. Vert looked at the hieroglyphs more closely. There was a pack of the creatures carved into the stone, it all seemed familiar. Startlingly, to the left, a larger creature caught his eye. A woefully unbelievable creature that was near twice the size of the pack carving. It was carved hunched – almost on two legs – with huge teeth and large eyes. "These creatures roam in rare battle zones and were at a time used by sentients to guard valuable items. This was down to the creature's strange method of procreating. Although they were able to produce young, their offspring became sterile after a few generations. In order to survive, they turned to a different way of survival." Sage seemed to be struggling to speak. "What they did has never been fully confirmed or recorded, but supposedly their saliva contains a portion of their genes in a virus like state." Vert clenched his fists in dread. Surely, she couldn't mean...

"This virus passed on through saliva causes the victim to mutate into an advanced version of the host. I am sorry Vert. I have no record of what the effects are on humans but..."

Vert slammed his hands down on the control panel in frustration. It all made sense now. The creatures backing off after the initial bite, Stanford disappearing every night since, the quick healing and the appearances of the beast close to the hub. It all pointed to one shocking revelation.

"You think Stanford is the creature?" Spinner started laughing nervously, but his laughter slowly died down as everyone else processed what they had just heard. "So, he's a…werewolf?"

"Not a werewolf," Tezz cut in, "an unstable mutant between human and creature. The result of extreme and violent gene mutation."

"I was angry with him for skipping duties. I had no idea that he was hiding this from us!?"

"Whatever he is speculated to be, he has been marked by the creatures. He will continue to change nightly, and the transformations will become more progressive. His condition will only worsen and he will become more aggressive and powerful until he reaches the peak of his illness," Sage hypothesized.

"Well, what happens then?!" Agura asked worriedly. Sage shook her head.

"He will lose the ability change back completely," Sage sighed, "and his predicament may become permanent."

Vert grimaced at the thought of having him hauled up in the hub in a cage for the rest of his life. He didn't want to lose any team members. "But Stan knows us, right? Why is he attacking like some wild animal?" AJ asked.

"Stanford does not remember anything of his human life or values whilst he is transformed, and will not remember anything that he has done once he wakes up. If we lose him permanently, his mind will not be able to sustain the data from when he was human, and it will erase itself. He will be no different from the creature that infected him."

"We need to stop him before that happens!" Vert interrupted, "Is there any way we could cure him?"

"I am confident that I can find some kind of solution to the problem."

That bought them some more time at least. "How long is it till he gets stuck that way forever?" Zoom asked.

"Now that we have assessed the problem, Stanford should have at least a few more days before this happens."

That was even better news. "Can we cure him tonight?" AJ asked.

Vert's train of thought halted. _Night_. It was now _sunset_. "We have to find Stanford, now!" Vert blurted.

He ran to the Saber and was about to drive off when Sage shouted for him to wait. A little annoyed, he did so. "The longer we leave this, the more people could get hurt!"

"I know the stakes are high Vert," Sage addressed, "If you are unable to catch Stanford before he transforms, the situation could be catastrophic. Tezz and I will modify some equipment for his capture in case this happens, so you will have to keep him away from any population until we are able to restrain him. Good luck team."

With a final glance back at Sage and Tezz, he drove off down the platform with everyone else following his lead. "Alright, if you were Stanford, where would you be right now?"

"That's easy," Spinner said, "he's out with Grace, right?" _Shit_. If he changed whilst taking a drive with her, they'd all be doomed. "I hope she's not on the menu."

"Not good," Vert muttered, "We'll have to check the diner first." They sped through the flats and made it into the lot not five minutes later. Vert was the first to burst through the front door of the diner in front of confused customers and Grace herself. "Where's Stanford!?" He almost demanded, panting whilst walking over to her.

"Stanford? Vert, I thought he was with you guys?" A shiver moved up his spine.

"You mean he's out in the desert alone with that creature still on the loose?" Zeke said from over the counter. He scoffed in disbelief and went back to tossing a pizza.

"Please Grace, we need to know where he is," Vert pleaded.

"Is something wrong? Is he in trouble?" She asked, her brown eyes hinted with worry.

Vert pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Please… just tell us where you last saw him."

"He dropped me off here about an hour ago, in time for my work shift," she said, giving him the only information she knew – and it was limited. Stanford could have gone anywhere by this point. Vert just hoped that he had stayed out in the desert.

"Don't worry Wheeler, your friend picked the right day to go out after dark," another voice interrupted. Sheriff Johnson looked at him from the counter, coffee cup in hand. Puzzled, Vert cocked a brow at the usually disgruntled officer. "The department are going out tonight with some officers from Rockley and widow's creek to search the desert." Sherriff Johnson stopped and sipped his coffee, only amounting more tension on Vert's shoulders. "Hopefully we'll find it quick and put it down sharpish with only a few shots. No use in causing more damage." There were quite a few quiet mutters and murmurs of " _thank heavens_ " from the civilians along with some sighs of relief, even from Grace herself.

Vert felt sick and had to stop himself from screaming out something unnecessary. The police were going to hunt down his teammate, his _friend_ and have him _shot_. Like he was an unlucky deer staring down the barrel of a hunter's shotgun. He was a threat right now and the mission comes before the man. However, this time, the mission was about the man. Most of all, Vert felt guilty. He was planning to interrogate the Brit's disappearances, but after learning that he had absolutely no control over his actions and face changing into a monster nightly, alone and not remember any of it. Waking up on some cold sidewalk having killed or injured someone and not being able to remember it. Stanford was usually pathetic, and to know that he was trapped inside the body of an evil creature full of bloodlust was horrifying.

"You can't be serious!" Vert cried.

"Better that monster than us Vert," he said emotionlessly.

Vert growled and resisted making a comment to the oblivious man. He turned around, forced open the door and slammed it heavily behind him, despite Grace's calling.

The team saw him and began asking questions, but Vert silently got into the Saber and drove off, seething with anger. When the radio chatter reached silence, he spoke up.

"We've got an even bigger problem. Sheriff Johnson's taking out a whole police unit to search for Stanford tonight. They're gonna have him _shot_ ," Vert said flatly with a growl.

"What kind of a resolution is that!" Spinner blurted as everyone else gasped.

"That's awful," Agura agreed.

"I agree," Vert cut in, "we're running out of time." It wasn't even as if it were true because Vert had said it, the bright white glare from the sun had faded and the sky already was starting to turn a pale pink.

"What's the plan, Vert?" Zoom asked attentively.

Vert thought for a moment. The last few plans to find and capture Stanford hadn't quite worked, and he was far less optimistic about potentially using force on him, even though it would always be a better outcome than him ending up in the police's crosshairs. Even if they didn't kill him, they'd find out he was a 'werewolf' and it would be national -if not worldwide- news headlines. He'd be locked up in a top-secret facility, questioned and perhaps even experimented on. That possibility didn't just end with Stanford either. Handlers corners would be flooded with people and the whole town would be under surveillance. Being connected with the man, they were likely to be searched, which could ultimately lead to the uncovering of their operation.

" _One problem at a time Vert_ ," he told himself. He was getting in over his head here. He didn't need to think further than the task at hand right-

"Is that…the Reverb!?" Vert broke his concentration to look frantically about the car whilst driving, but couldn't see that car that Spinner had pointed out.

"Spinner, I can't see anything," he muttered, confused.

"I've got a pair of Sage's high-powered binoculars in the buster that I may or may not have borrowed from her," Vert heard a collection of groans and Vert could picture Agura rolling her eyes. "We need to head right a little, I think I see it behind a cactus patch."

"You think, or you know?" Agura criticized.

"How many purple cars would happen to be driving about on the salt flats at this time?" Spinner defended. Through their bickering, at the lead of the group, Vert was now close enough to see that this was indeed the rear end of a car poking out from a wall of rocks and cactus up against an incline.

"Sorry Agura, but Spinner might be right on the money. Spin, can you take another look?"

"It's definitely the Reverb," Spinner confirmed and then paused, "but I don't see Stanford."

By the time Spinner had finished his second statement, they had reached the hidden cactus bunker and Vert could clearly see the vehicle. The car was stationary, and its roof was open. Pulling up behind it (once the dust had settled) he could see no signs of life. Agura exited the tangler first and as the best tracker, she took a glance around. She walked around the front of the reverb and seemed to freeze, lifting her wrist to speak into her com.

"We're too late." Her voice sounded disappointed. Vert felt a kind of fear wash over him as he jumped out and made his way over to her, only to pale at the sight before him. There was a huge scar across the front of the car. Four near claw marks were drawn across the grill and lights of the reverb, carving jagged lines into the metal, as if all done with one stroke of the beast's paw. Everyone else came over and each fell into their own kind of shock. The more Vert continued to look, the worse it became. He began to notice smaller scratches, consisting of five marks in a hand like patterns. Plain to see, yet shallow like a mark from a small, sharp object. The comparison was plain to see, and whatever was left of Stanford had to be really unstable and desperate if was taking his anger out on his car.

"Looks like this just got more complex than we thought."

"So, I take it the moon doesn't have to pop out from the clouds for him to suddenly turn into a giant wolf in a puff of smoke?" Spinner asked, trying but failing to lighten the tension.

"It would certainly make it easier," Zoom muttered, "geez this looks painful." He bent down and picked up a strand of a shredded jacket. Stanford's shredded jacket which looked like it had been forcefully torn off of him from the inside out.

Vert had seen enough. "Okay team, we need to get back to town before he can. The reverb being so far out here bought us some time, but we can't waste any more." The Reverb had possibly been hidden by Stanford on purpose. Had the prince driven it out into the bunker to perhaps hide from everyone else? Either way, it was one advantage that he could be thankful for. There were worse ways Stanford could have handled the situation. Getting into the Saber and starting the engine, a hologram of Sage emerged on his dash. "Do you have Stanford?"

"Sorry Sage. We found the reverb, but it looks like Stanford's changed already."

"Tezz will wait for you to initiate capture protocol once you sight Stanford. Good luck Vert."

Then she left, leaving him responsible for whatever was to happen in the next few hours.


	7. Night Hunt

_**I'm Sorry that this took so long. I was really eager to write this part but I think it gets too repetitive and boring because of how long I had to stretch it. I don't know, maybe it doesn't. Poor Stanford gets tortured even more in this chapter but his luck should start improving in the next one. Enjoy reading!**_

* * *

"Alright," Vert sighed. "We need to protect the town and Stanford. We'll head to the town and wait to see if he shows. Once we see him, Tezz is gonna bring the sentient tech so we can catch him before he hurts himself or anyone else." Everyone else nodded, and the gesture restored the belief that his teammates were still willing to follow him through this mess. "Spinner, Sherman, are you guys up for towing Reverb back to base?"

"No problem Vert," Spinner said coolly. Vert watched them for a moment as the prepared the car for towing, and then sped off into the desert followed by the rest of the team.

"What is Tezz planning to capture him with?" Zoom asked as they drove, "Do we have anything at the hub low enough tech enough to not hurt him whilst being strong enough to make sure he doesn't eat anyone?"

"I'm sure Tezz and Sage will think of something." Vert flicked on his headlights. The sky was darkening rapidly, but there was no moon in sight. At least not yet. Maybe it wasn't even the moon that triggered him to turn wild. After all, Sage herself stated that the setting and rising of the sun wouldn't limit Stanford's illness for much longer.

"Why couldn't he have been changed into a vampire instead? A lot fewer teeth, doesn't drool, has more repellents and is easier to reason with."

"Has more repellents?" Zoom questioned.

"Garlic, wooden stakes, holy water…"

"Even if vampires did exist Spinner, they'd still be dangerous. Besides, Stanford is not a real werewolf," Agura reasoned.

"Come on Agura, we fight aliens on a daily basis."

"Aliens aren't humans that suck blood and sparkle in the sunlight," She rolled her eyes, "and for once, this isn't completely Stanford's fault."

"Guys focus," Vert cut in, flustered, "Teammate and town to save remember?"

"Yeah, before sheriff Johnson gets his silver bullets out," Spinner said with a shiver. Vert felt a tingle in his spine too. There were infinite ways this could go wrong. Stanford could change back in front of someone, he could seriously hurt someone, someone might seriously hurt him…the list went on and on. As they passed by, the lights in the diner were on but there were no people running for their lives as of yet. That was a good sign.

"AJ, you wait here buddy," Vert told the Canadian, "we need some muscle to keep an eye on the diner."

"And if Stan shows?" He asked.

"Get Sage on the line immediately and try to drive him away from any people."

Handler corners itself was as quiet as it usually was. Nobody out on the streets with all of the lights on inside, washing colour and light out onto the streets. Any damage from Stanford's reign of terror was dark and in the progress of being repaired. Too bad that work may go to waste once the beast showed its terrifying face. Vert was the only one who had seen its face and even when it was obscured by darkness, it was daunting. It was hard to believe that it was hiding behind the sometimes arrogant but friendly façade Stanford had. The beast's green eyes reminded him of Kalus. Not an evil red like Krytus or Zemerik perhaps, but animalistic and brutal all the same.

"So, do we just wait here for him like before?" Zoom broke the silence.

"Yep, that's the plan." Vert knew he had to sound at least a little confident. He didn't want to worry everyone else.

"It shouldn't be long until he gets the incentive to come back," Agura added, "wolves are hunters and scavengers."

"I want you to take point on this mission Agura," Vert stated. "What's the best way to trap him?"

"It'll be difficult for sure. He won't be keen on sitting still and if he's anything like a real wolf, we'll have to fool his nose first. We might have to use force and just snag him with our winches and Tezz's equipment until we can get him contained."

"If that's what it takes, then we'll have to risk some scratches here and there. Stanford might just be a little mad when he wakes up."

"Well, I hope something happens soon. This silence is starting to get creepy," Zoom shivered. It was very quiet with all the engines shut off. Too quiet. Vert opened the top of the Saber to listen. The whole town was hushed. The calm before the storm perhaps? A sudden breeze of wind drifted by, only known to Vert by the howling sound it made. Howling. Vert listened harder. He looked over at the tangler, where he could see Agura trying to listen, then up at the big, bold moon. Again, the howling drifted by in the wind, much clearer this time.

"Agura?"

"It's close," She whispered. Everyone else was hushed with anticipation and dread as the leader contacted Sage as quietly as he could. The sentient appeared holographically on contact. "How close is Tezz to finishing?" He asked hurriedly. She noticed this.

"He should be on route to your location within the next 5 minutes. Have you located Stanford?"

"He's close by, but there's no sign of him for-," a scream and the sound of tearing metal became a deafening and sudden crescendo to Sage's voice. He jumped before coming to terms with what may be happening. "Tell Tezz to get here as fast as he can!"

Agura was already on the move. Vert followed suit, watching as she turned onto another street and then applied her brakes quite suddenly. Looking to her, he could see her eyes were wide like those of an owl and they were fixated on something further down the street. Following them, Vert soon had the same expression. There was a truck in the middle of the road, turned with its side to them as if it had swerved to avoid something. Vert and Agura just stared, slack-jawed. The two people terrified people clinging to each other, terrified had no chance to get away from the beast, which was now trying to tip the vehicle. The scraping sound of the metal previously was the beast trying to tear the roof off. Perhaps trying to get to the prey inside. However, Agura could see what Vert couldn't. From what she could see, the beast's attitude wasn't just aggression. It was curiosity too, in a brutal kind of way as it chewed on the car's tires like a teething puppy, undeterred by the sounds screaming people and deflating rubber. This moment of strange but terrifying awe was shattered by a masculine yet girlish scream from Spinner. Somehow, the pitch distracted the creature and it let go of the truck, staring at them. Spinner squealed again, panicking and firing a small scale concussion bomb at the creature, which exploded just above its head, making it yelp in surprise.

"Dude! You could have hit the people!" Vert scolded.

"Sorry," Spinner said sheepishly but then screamed again and promptly fainted as a fierce, piercing roar worked its way up through the monster's jaws. Pushing past the truck like it was a small being, it set its now vicious eyes on the group.

"Great, now he's mad," Zoom muttered in fear. Taking advantage of the distraction, the pair in the victim vehicle turned and sped away swiftly.

Under the light of the streetlamps, they all got a proper look at their changed comrade for the first time. Everyone was shocked, be it out of astoundment or pity. Or both.

It was a huge creature. The vehicle it had attacked was a sizeable one. A newish, 4x4 pickup by the looks of it. Vert had more experience naming cars than animals. The animal – or rather mutated human – they were looking at could possibly compete with the buster in size. As for strength, they were unsure if it was the thing's noticeable muscles or its sleek, brilliant orange pelt that was making it look more formidable in size. Its coat was thick, shaggy and noticeably longer on its stomach, chest and on the backs of its legs. The canid also had a sort of short vertical mane protruding from between its ears and travelling down to the middle of its back. The fur on its huge tail was similarly unkempt and the creature held the brush like appendage high and still. Its paws were massive and it had black, curvy claws on each of its four toes on each foot. Its face however, was sharp and slim and it had ears like those of a Doberman, tall and pointy. Its haunting, familiar green eyes were narrowed in rage and its lips were curled to reveal a set of formidable, gleaming teeth.

Vert sighed painfully. He opened the top of the Saber and leaned forwards.

"Vert, we've got him still, what are you doing?" Agura asked, worried.

"I'm gonna try to talk to him," he explained.

"But-."

"There might be some part of him that is still…Stanford."

"Does that look on his face tell you that he's up for a friendly chat?" Zoom asked sarcastically.

"Quiet guys," Vert cut in, "Don't want to make him any angrier than he already is. Cover me, but stay back." Vert put his com on loudspeaker and leaned out of the vehicle, towards the beast.

"Stan, buddy, I know you're upset," Vert tried to console. "I know this is scary and that you must be confused." The beast just growled angrily, its lips vibrating. "I don't know if you can understand me but you've gotta try to listen to me, okay?" It continued to growl as he talked, snapping at the air. " We don't want to have to hurt you and I know that somewhere deep down you don't want to hurt anyone either. This isn't you!" Vert's words only seemed to be making him more aggressive and Vert was losing his patience. "Come on Stanford!" Something in the beast had suddenly clicked. It stopped growling and just stared, frozen, looking at Vert, perhaps in recognition of its full name. As bewildering as it seemed to him and the creature, something changed once again in its posture. At first, it seemed as if it was coming to terms with what Vert had told it but then it threw its great head up to the sky with a flex of its powerful neck, startling Vert. Muzzle slightly ajar, it started up a loud, horrendous yowling and Vert had to resist covering his ears. When it put its head down again, Vert's ears were ringing. "Stanford?" he asked again. The beast wasn't as keen to listen this time. It saw Vert through its bright eyes and its ears immediately went flat against its skull. It lunged as Vert slipped back into a seated position and closed the glass windshield, its muzzle banging against the glass. He hit the pedal, knocking the beast off of the Saber.

"Everyone scatter!" They did, the brute snapping at them as they did so. As they tore down the road, it gave chase. Agura noticed. "Alright, this is good. We should be able to lead him to the hub-." A high pitch, old, cranky truck horn interrupted her.

"What in blazes are you kids doing out here!?" Zeke started to yell out of his pickup's window whilst blaring the horn. The half-hound's ears perked up curiously and it looked at the old man.

"Zeke, no!" Sherman yelled as it made its way over to him. Zeke saw the creature and tried to drive away, hitting straight into its leg. It nearly overbalanced and held up said leg, but had all four limbs back on the floor in seconds before rearing up and dropping its front paws onto the bonnet. The horn started blaring again and Zeke was knocked out.

"Got an idea!" Zoom suggested quickly, "Lower your ramp Spinner, I'll distract fang face here!"

"One chopper going up!" Spinner lowered the buster's ramp and Zoom became airborne. He flew circles around the beast, which lost interest in Zeke and began to look up to try to find its target.

"Agura, get Zeke!" Zoom shouted the creature snarling and following the chopper with narrowed eyes. Agura managed to pull Zeke's car away from the scene with her winch, but she noticed the beast slinking close to the ground out of the corner of her eye, coiling up like a spring.

"Zoom, watch out he'll pounce!"

"What?" Zoom asked. However, before he could fully understand what she said, the creature sprang upwards like a rocket, launching itself at the chopper. Luckily, Zoom noticed and swerved mid-air but in spite of this, its front left paw managed to slightly strike the bike. Although Zoom managed to stay seated, the chopper lost control and began to fall out of the sky. Zoom jumped off and landed on a street corner, crouched and rubbing his head. He gasped as a looming shadow blocked the light and a patch of drool plopped onto his shoulder. "Guys!"

"Hang on Zoom!" Vert made a quick U-turn only to watch in horror as it proceeded to lift Zoom up by the front of his shock suit and hold him in the air. Zoom kicked almost helplessly in its grip as it held him mercilessly in front of its face. Zoom punched the creature's nose but it was unresponsive, making frightening eye contact and snorting warm breath onto Zoom's face. Just the biker thought he might become a midnight snack, some sort of a glowing electric cable wrapped itself around the beast's throat, giving it a momentary shock. It yelped and dropped Zoom, who was then helped up by Sherman and Vert. The bright beam attached to a collar round its neck was taut and lead back to the Splitwire. The back paneling on the car was open and a winch lay in current replace of the electromagnetic blaster.

"Nice one Tezz!" Zoom cheered. "What is it?"

"A sentient restraint device engineered with electromagnetic shock capabilities," he said somewhat proudly.

"Alright, well it saved our skin," Vert said thankfully, "let's hope we can lead him back to the hub."

With a confident smirk, Tezz began reversing the Splitwire down the street. The energy noose tightened around the beast's neck as it resisted following the car. It received another sharp shock from the noose and it started forwards at the slowest pace possible, growling with its hackles raised.

"Remember Tezz, as least harm done as possible," Agura reminded him.

"Do not worry Agura," he said coolly, "The creature has a much higher pain tolerance than Stanford or any human. There is no need to worry about him."

"Well let's just hope he doesn't wake up tomorrow and remember that we've dragged him round town on a shock collar," Spinner said humorously.

"There is no need for the theory Spinner. He should remain and wake up oblivious."

"I don't know about that. He did have a moment earlier when he seemed to respond to Vert."

"But then the moment passed and he tried to eat me," Vert cut in. He looked at it just to check. Still struggling in the noose. He guessed he hated being caged up, like most animals. It was for his own good, though. It had proved fair and square that it couldn't be trusted by attacking him and Zoom. It was scratching wildly at the collar though, trying to escape. "I just wish we could have known about this sooner."

His control panel flashed blue as a hologram of Sage appeared on the dash. "Have you managed to get him contained?"

"We have Sage."

"Good work team, I will continue to work on a containment unit for your arrival."

"Uhm, about that, how are you going to keep him contained?" Spinner asked.

"Tezz and I have been working on a kind of sealed off room in the lower levels of the hub. I have been researching more into the legend of these creatures and I have found a supposed sentient account of the process. The account is centuries old, but its writer, a dyad whose master was infected by the beasts claimed that it took multiple earth months for a sentient to reach Stanford's level of progression. From analysing this scripture, it seems that the more advanced a being is, the longer they have to fight the disease."

"What does this mean for Stanford?" Agura asked.

"That his aggression levels may vary quite drastically," she confirmed, "there may be a neurological battle taking place between the beast's instincts and Stanford's subconscious."

"That seems likely," Vert told her, "I tried to talk to him earlier and it seems like he could recognise his name for a second but after that, he freaked out and tried to attack me."

"Has he demonstrated any human behaviour? Any movements or vocalisation?"

"I'm afraid not, Sage."

"Then I feel that the best thing to do would be to get him into a quiet place that he may be able to recognise."

"And that should calm him down?"

"Theoretically, yes." The hologram disappeared.

"Alright, you guys heard Sage. Try and get him back to the hub before anything else goes-."

Vert heard the straining of an engine behind him and looked to see the Splitwire in a struggle with the creature. It was once again refusing to move, digging its feet into the ground but now it wasn't responding to any shocks from the collar. In fact, it seemed to be getting used to them. Before Tezz could turn the dial up, it suddenly launched itself onto the car like a spring and gave it an almighty shove. The car rolled once, hitting the winch area and disabling power to the car for a second. Before Tezz could shake it off and restart the car to enable a disabling shock, the collar had just turned to wire and the beast ripped it apart like paper.

"Watch out, he's loose!"

It seemed like the monster was going to turn and charge Tezz as he was recovering, so Vert pulled sharply in front of the Splitwire and flipped the switch on the saber, blades pointed at it. "Stay back," he growled. It stared at the spinning metal blades with hatred, its hair bristling. The rest of the vehicles surrounded the canid, so that it was blocked in all directions. It began bounding back and forth in the enclosed car circle, obviously frustrated until it stopped in front the buster.

"It's looking at us!" Spinner cried. "Tezz! An electric dog collar would be good right about now."

"Power levels…still…recharging," the Russian groaned groggily.

The Cortez brothers watched as it shrank to the floor again, ready to pounce. Spinner screamed as the rest of the team tried to intervene, thinking that it was preparing to launch itself directly at it to try and reach the people inside. To their surprise, it leapt straight over them. Quite gracefully compared to its human host. Its feet only clipping the back of the tank in the slightest of touches before it landed on its feet behind them. It turned back to the team and let out a powerful cry, eyes blazing, before turning towards the town. It sniffed the air with keen interest, rising onto its back paws for a moment. It then gave the humans once last bitter glance before galloping away. Right back the way they had come.

Vert grumbled in frustration. He was done playing games. "After it!"

Despite being huge, it ran like a cheetah somehow and had managed to disappear inside the wall of buildings without them seeing it. He had to be hiding somewhere and they were running out of time. "Alright, new plan. Agura and Zoom, you guys need to be up high, see if you can spot him. Sherman, Spinner, Tezz and I will watch the streets."

Vert lead his half of the team through the dark streets, shining his lights into every alley and crevasse that could be concealing the animal. His change in instinct to survive and strength had been stronger than he first thought. If he at least had his head -so to speak- he would stay friendly with them and wouldn't be attacking civilians. Though his fight or flight instinct may prove useful if the police came looking. He was smart enough to know when to run or hide. Maybe that was why this hunt was so frustrating.

"Vert," the voice through his radio five minutes later was low and soft.

"Agura?" He whispered, "what is it?"

"I've found Stanford," She replied "again."

"That's great Agura! Where are you?"

"On the cul-de-sac, off of main street," she replied, "but keep a low profile, I can see the police starting to head my way."

"We'll try and delay Sheriff Johnson and his cronies a little, you go help Agura, Vert," Spinner said, rubbing his hands together in a challenging, mischievous manner.

"Thanks, Spinner. Tezz, I need you to come with me for another shot at roping Stanford."

"Agreed. It was most puzzling to see him escape the first time, but I am confident that the device will not fail again."

He turned the Saber into a side street and then onto the road that Agura had described. From the angle at which they entered, they could see the Tangler parked up on a curb with the lights off. They then saw Agura crouching at the entrance to an alley. Vert got out and walked to her first but she immediately told him to be quiet and stay low. He soon saw why. There was no light in this back alley but Vert could see its shape and eyes from any distance. It was focused on a large bin beside a back door. It was taking a few bags out and shaking them like prey items. The rustling bags were then spilling their contents out and it was snaffling up any food remains quickly.

"Hungry huh?" Vert said. More so to himself but he did direct it towards the beast. It looked at him warily and Vert tightened his grip on his sword, although it wouldn't do much if it was to charge straight at them. He felt safer knowing that Tezz was just behind them with the shock device. It continued to watch them for a moment but moved back to the rubbish soon after. "How are we going to catch him if he just runs off as soon as we come near him?"

Agura sighed in frustration. "Well, we might have to earn his trust a little."

"A beast like this doesn't have the capacity to understand human qualities like 'trust'. Your argument is illogical," Tezz sighed.

Agura shot him an angry look. "But Stanford does. We just have to try and get through to him again."

"And if he tries to eat us again?" Vert asked her as she crept closer to the half-breed.

"We did corner him," she replied quietly.

"You're _defending_ Stanford?" He couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ironic, isn't it?" Agura crouched. She noticed Vert's sword and the man's tall posture. "Crouch down low and drop your sword. He might perceive you as a threat."

"Is that why he tried to bite my head off the first time?"

"It's down to a lot of things," she answered. "But yeah."

"Well, you are the wildlife expert."

Agura took a deep breath and started talking a smooth, soft voice. He had never heard her speak in such a tone (which was usually in shouts and insults) towards Stanford.

"Stanford," she cooed sort of softly. Its ears pricked up and it raised its great head from the depths of the bin, licking its chops.

"Watch him respond to her straight away," Tezz growled lowly over the com link in disbelief.

"Yes," she told him, "that's it. This is Agura talking to you. Agura. Vert is here too, so is Tezz. We're here to help you." The beast removed its head from the bin completely and watched Agura curiously. Its eyes followed her but they didn't look menacing. Miraculously, Stanford's attack dog status had diminished into a form of concern or interest as he watched the woman with a poised yet somehow calm attitude.

"You're okay. Alright?" She tried to reassure the man that she thought was behind the mutt's wild temperament. It got closer, sniffing the air and lifting one of its huge feet. As its claws, didn't seem to be tense, she hoped it was just checking for any danger before making its approach. That didn't mean she wasn't afraid because as soon as it put its nose down, it came straight up to her. She froze as stiff as a board as it began sniffing her shocksuit and nudging her with its head. She had never been this up close to such a dangerous creature before and although she would never admit it – she felt somewhat helpless as it investigated her. Its relaxed movements suddenly tensed up as she heard a clunk from behind them as her 'companion' growled menacingly. She saw a glimmer out of the corner of her eye and noticed Vert holding his blade.

"Vert. Put it down, now," she advised quite seriously, perhaps fearing for one of their lives.

"How do we know he won't bite you and drag you into the exact same problem?" he said pointing the tip of the sword at the animal accusingly.

"Just move back. If he attacks, you've got Tezz's device to stop him."

Vert moved a few metres back and the growling stopped. The green eyes didn't avert from the leader though. They stayed on him as their owner's nose brushed against the huntress' shoulder. She shivered as it drew back and to their amazement, proceeded to walk towards Vert.

It wasn't snarling but Agura motioned for him to drop the sword. He moved up against the saber and placed the weapon inside right as it moved past him. It moved in front of the group of humans and astonishingly sat down on its haunches, head high but eyes down, silently.

"Incredible," Tezz muttered, "it seems like my predictions were wrong."

"Sage's predictions about a quiet environment seem to be right though," Vert stated. Being on a dark street with only three calm, unarmed people with many escape routes seemed to be proving it.

"It makes sense as after all, this is the first case of this happening in a human according to Sage," Agura sighed.

"I'd probably be a little irritable if that was me in this situation," Vert admitted. "If only we could keep him like this for another hour. We should have him back to normal by sunrise."

"Should?" she laughed. Agura was stood next to the creature, not in her vehicle. The beast nudged her once more and she jumped a little.

"Well he doesn't seem to have any problems with you, that's for sure," Vert said, watching cautiously.

"I'm going to try something."

"That's probably not a good idea," Tezz advised as he watched Agura outstretch her arm towards it. Vert held his breath as the beast looked at her hand as it came towards its chest. She was just about to place her hand down when a loud wailing cut through the air, making all of them jump. The wailing was the piercing screeching of police sirens in the distance getting closer. It immediately got back to a standing position and began staring at the entrance to the dead end. Agura and Vert's eyes widened as they saw the bright, flashing blue and red lights of a single police cruiser coming down the road. Now very much upset by the disturbance after being calmed, the creature began to growl, its mane bristled, pupils beginning to shrink. Vert feared the trust they had just forged with him was about to come crumbling down.

"Oh no …. Come on Stanford, keep it together!" Vert cried over the sirens, trying to console him. However, now, not even Agura could keep him quiet. Sheriff Johnson's police car stopped just in front of them and the beast shook its head, whining.

The man got out quickly. "Wheeler! What in tarnation are you doing!?" Vert saw something in his hand reflect off of the police lights and his heart sank.

"Sheriff, don't!" Agura warned as the creature's jaws began to open slowly, revealing its gaping maw.

"You folks are absolutely crazy!" he shouted, waving his arms for emphasis. It seemed to dislike this and only snarled louder, its posture rigid. "Have you lot lost your mind's?!"

"Stop, it's not safe for-!"

He cut Agura off. "Damn right it's not, so why the hell are you protecting it?!"

"Sir, please, we've got it under control!" Vert pleaded.

"Doesn't fly, Wheeler," he muttered. He raised his pistol from where he had been holding it against his holster. The police officer pointed it straight between the trapped hybrid's eyes. It growled when it saw it in its line of vision and tried to back away, backing itself up against a building. Vert felt as if his heart was in his throat. He would have no idea of the danger he was in because of the gun until a bullet would hit and potentially kill him. Vert stopped trying to hold his friend back and ran towards the police officer who already had his finger on the trigger, ready to fire. Vert did the only thing he could think to do successfully grabbed the officer's arm. Sadly, Sheriff Johnson didn't drop the gun and fired a single bullet which was sent flying at his friend but Vert's quick thinking did prove to save his life. He had moved the Sheriff's arm to the right and thrown off his aim. It wasn't a head impact. The bullet shot him just at the top of the shoulder.

"NO!" Vert and Agura cried simultaneously as they watched their teammate rear up in surprise, yelp loudly and then fall to the floor. The Sheriff reloaded his gun, cursing under his breath.

"You're only making this more painful for yourself," he muttered, looking down at his gun to reload.

Vert and Agura stood in front of him as a kind of human shield. They heard a groan behind them as it struggled to its feet, trying to reach back to lick the wound. A small stream of blood trickled down his shoulder and into his fur right near the entrance point of the bullet. It looked at the wound in a dumbfounded way for a second and then back at the deputy. When its eyes met the man who had hurt it, the split second turned surprise into provoked outrage. Its green eyes were teaming with white hot rage as a violent storm of a bellow came roaring out of its mouth. Its mouth was stretched open to its limit and seemed capable of severing a head with one bite. Vert could see drool dripping off of the glacier like fangs right next to him. He seemed more angered than ever before. Like he wanted to rip the policeman to shreds. The officer seemed intimidated too, as his hand was shaking as he tried to threaten it off with it. It didn't prove successful and before Vert could do anything about it, it bounced right upon him. It didn't bite the man. It reared up and smacked at him with its paw. There was no blood but the officer went flying backwards, sliding over his car bonnet and falling off the other side, unconscious. Vert made a mad run to the saber and grabbed his sword just as the fangs were inches away from the Sheriff's throat.

He jumped in front of the man, with his sword pointed at the beast's mouth. It moved back a little. "Stop." Vert ordered him. It snapped at him and knocked him down on his back. He had slashed at it with his sword on the way down and cut its lip. It seemed undeterred by this and stamped down on his arm. "Argh!"

"Vert!" Agura and Tezz cried. The weight was crushing and Vert desperately tried to get himself freed. Though there was finally a breakthrough in the chaos. An electromagnetic blast was shot at the creature and it moved back, off of Vert. Tezz continued to fire and the creature gave up and ran. Vert lay on his back in a daze, watching it scramble up onto a roof and then disappear. He soon saw Agura above him with a worried expression on his face. "Vert! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah…," he groaned as she gave him her hand. He took it and sat up, rubbing his sore arm. "I'm okay."

"What about your arm?"

"It's only a little sore," he muttered, cracking his back, "he just stood on me."

He got up holding it as a few more sets of headlights lit up the road in front of them, making him squint. The buster stopped closest to them and Spinner hopped out of the top hatch. "We're too late!" He complained. He saw the Sheriff lying on the tarmac, groaning and went over to him. "What did you guys do!?"

"We didn't do anything," Vert explained, still holding his arm as he limped over to the Saber. "Agura managed to calm Stanford down and then Sheriff Johnson decided to come and make things worse."

"By doing what exactly?"

"He pulled his gun out on Stanford and shot him," Agura sighed, exhausted, "Stanford sent him flying over his car hood. He isn't bleeding, but he hit the ground pretty hard."

"Gosh, I hope the guy is alright," AJ said, as he had now re-joined the whole group.

"Stanford or Sheriff Johnson?" Spinner asked, trying but somewhat failing to be comical.

"Sheriff Johnson will be fine," Vert sighed, "his fellow officers will find him sooner or later." He looked up at the brightening sky. The moon was going down and the stars were beginning to fade. The first rays of sunlight would peek over the brow of the desert within the next hour. "But we've got bigger problems to deal with. This has been a complete failure and I'm sorry guys."

"It's no one's fault Vert," Zoom piped up.

"Yeah," Spinner agreed. "you can't win every game."

"But this could end up killing someone," Vert brought his fist down on his car. "Stanford nearly got shot in the face!"

"At least it'll be over soon," Agura mumbled. "Once the sun comes up, we shouldn't have to deal with him getting loose on the streets again."

"Where is he now?" Zoom questioned.

"Hopefully not far. He might start feeling the effects of changing back soon," Vert said.

"If he is, he's probably run out onto the salt flats," Agura suggested.

Agura's statement made him feel relieved. The nightmare was soon going to be over. "Then there's still hope of finding him before he causes any more trouble. We'll do it differently this time and split up. All of our vehicles have first aid kits and basic aid supplies." Everyone else, - although they were all ready to drop to the ground with exhaustion, complied and returned the way they had come, leaving Vert in the middle of the road. Agura hesitated.

"Aren't you coming?"

"Give me a sec. I just need to think a few things over…" She begrudgingly left. Vert collapsed against the side of the Saber, kind of in defeat. He had almost never felt this drained. He looked up at the clear sky that was beginning to bleed into an orange colour from blue. He wished his mind was that cool and clear right then and there. This had been a lot harder than he thought it would be. Sometimes he would forget how dangerous this job was. Now that he had nearly witnessed the death of his friend, it had opened his eyes to how much they all really meant to him as the leader and how dangerous it still was for them, even when they were at home. This time it was for the sake of a life and not a key. Although the loss of one life wouldn't impact the whole earth like a key in the hands of their enemies would, it felt much closer to home and much more precious. Vert's long thoughts were only interrupted by a loud groan to his right. Sheriff Johnson still lying on his back on the floor as if he'd dropped dead. Somewhere deep down, Vert felt that he wouldn't care if he had have done so. He knew it was an unfair thought but he did decide to get in the saber and leave in there. It was a matter of help him, or the other person that needed their help the most right now.

The cracked dirt was beginning to shine with a red sheen as the sun came up and he could almost feel the sun pricking his eyes. The dark spots on his eyes from the sun almost looked like a car in the distance. Yet it wasn't hot enough for there to be a mirage at sunrise. He squinted. It was a vehicle. As he got closer, he could see that it was a large one and there seemed to be two people standing next to it. The colour blue registered in his mind and he caught on to who it was. The vehicle was the buster and it was Spinner and Sherman that were walking around next to it. Their behaviour caught his eye. What were they up to? They seemed to notice him and Spinner waved him over. Sherman didn't react. He was kneeled down, tending to something on the floor. Vert was curious as to what it was. As he was almost 100 yards away, he could see the light hitting the thing on the ground. It was an odd shape and mostly covered by what seemed to be a sheet or tarp. At 50 yards, Vert's blood ran cold and he had to do a double-take. It seemed like a person lying on the ground. He stopped the Saber and ran the rest of the short distance on foot, worried out of his mind.

"Vert!" Sherman acknowledged him and stood up. Vert skidded to a stop once he saw the person that Sherman had previously been blocking. Stanford was lying on his side in the dirt and the 'tarp' was a towel covering most of the man's torso and legs. The beast was gone, leaving just Stanford -although bare and perhaps paler than ever. Vert brushed past Sherman and knelt down beside Stanford.

"Stanford? Come on buddy, wake up!" Vert tried to keep a positive tone but he knew he sounded worried. The man was lying still and Vert knew that he could have a bad injury lying in wait to be treated underneath the towel. Sherman seemed to notice. Vert gave the man's shoulder a gentle shake. He moaned in pain and shivered. His eyes were moving quite rapidly behind his closed eyelids. He looked up at Sherman for answers.

"We just found him lying here like this," Spinner answered for his brother. "Sherm says he's gonna be alright."

He looked at the younger Cortez for confirmation. "His pulse is a little rapid but he's breathing fine. I suspect he's just recovering from his ordeal." Vert breathed a sigh of relief. He looked back at the redhead just in time to see his lashes flutter open. A pair of emerald green eyes met his gaze. Although they were heavy and weak, they were genuine.

"V-Vert"?


	8. Calmer Winds

_**First update of 2017! I'm sorry how long this took, I have quite a few projects from school to do and I have been working on an AU fanfic. But I had a burst of motivation to finish the other half of this chapter last week and now its ready. Stanford may act a little out of character in this chapter but in my defence, he is kind of pessimistic and insecure anyway. Minor swears from Stanford in this chapter also, just as a warning. Please read and review, enjoy!**_

* * *

"Vert, is that you mate?" Stanford said weakly, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah, it is," he said slowly as Stanford rubbed his head, making his already messy fauxhawk look like a bird's nest. "How are you feeling?"

"Bloody sore," he complained, trying to sit up. Vert placed a supportive hand on his back to help him. He shivered, holding the sheet tightly around his body. As he did so, a droplet of garnet liquid dropped onto the white fabric of the towel. Vert looked at the man again, noticing his gashed lip. Vert felt a little guilty about it although the cut had shrunken down to suit the new, original size of Stanford's body. Stanford looked at the circular stain in awe, before moving a shaky, ghostly pale hand to the wound on his lip. He wiped it and looked at the blood seeping into his skin, thoroughly baffled.

"Sherman, grab my first aid kit from the Saber, there should be a second towel in there." Sherman returned with it and Stanford almost snatched it off him in an urgency to cover himself. He dabbed at his lip feverishly, trembling.

"Vert…what's going on?" Stanford didn't sound demanding. Only confused and maybe even a little fearful. Vert chewed his lip in worry. He didn't know how Stanford would take to the information he needed to be told but the leader believed he would downright deny it, offended or have an hour long preach of despair not limited to complaining and high pitch screaming. If he was confused now, there was no telling how he would respond to the real truth. "We'll tell you soon Stanford, I promise. We just need to get the whole team here so we can get you back to the hub." He tried to sound calm, even taking his friend by the hand but Stanford just seemed more unconvinced.

"Why? Where's the reverb? Hell, where's the rest of my stuff!?" he cried, almost angrily but regretted it as he clutched his stomach soon after, groaning.

Vert frowned. He turned around for a second to speak into the radio. "Meet at my location. We've got Stanford." He turned back to the man sat on the ground who was still rubbing at his lip. "I take it you don't remember anything."

"About last night?" Stanford inquired, rubbing his head. Vert nodded. "I remember dropping Grace off at the diner last night."

"And then?" Spinner asked eagerly. The Brit sighed an apology. "Nothing. Everything's fuzzy after that. And now everything hurts," he complained, "and my shoulder is the worst!"

"Your…shoulder?" Vert stopped himself, reliving a sharp reminder and before Stanford could stop him, Vert had tugged him over and pulled the towel away from the back of his neck. He looked over the skin for anything that proved to be an injury.

Though, to be fair to Vert, he only had seconds to look before an outraged Stanford slapped his hand away defensively. "Ow! What do you think you're doing?!"

"I need to take a look at the back of your neck, Stanford," Vert pleaded, trying to keep as patient as possible, "please."

Stanford complied but he was muttering in annoyance as Vert, more gently this time, peeled back the fabric to look. Vert marvelled at what he saw with wide eyes. There was a visible gunshot wound close to the man's spine. Although the wound didn't seem deep in the first place – it appeared that the bullet had just cut across the top layer of Stanford's skin – the wound's condition made it seem like the Stanford had received his wound weeks instead of hours ago. It looked raw, inflamed and sore, with a noticeable dip in the skin but there was no blood or a gaping hole. Vert immediately breathed a sigh of relief, Stanford looking at him with a perplexed expression. Stanford seemed like he wanted to ask why but the sound of nearby car engines distracted him.

Stanford and Vert were covered in a cloud of desert dusk as the tangler, chopper, gearslammer and splitwire rolled up. Agura was the first out and she briskly jogged up to them two men. Although she was tired, she seemed wide awake with relief as she looked Stanford up and down. Then, she looked to Vert.

"Is he alright?" Vert chewed on his lip nervously but nodded. Stanford pulled the cloths tighter around his body, obviously a little overwhelmed by the attention he was receiving. Vert noticed.

"Stanford, buddy, you're in no shape to drive so you're going to have to ride with Tezz," Vert said, indicating to the splitwire's vacant passenger seat.

"Lucky me," Stanford muttered, he then looked Vert in the eye very solemnly, "and then will you tell me what the bloody hell is going on?"

Vert sighed and just helped the stubborn man amble over to Tezz's car. Once back in his own, he noticed a beeping from his radio. Someone had switched to a private link to talk to him. Agura was patched through, her voice a whisper.

"Who found him?"

"Spinner and Sherman did," Vert answered in a similar tone, "they said he had already changed back by the time they found him. He was lying on the ground, just waking up as I got there."

"and his wounds?"

"I think the disease saved him this time," Vert explained, "his lip has a minor cut but his gunshot wound looks weeks old and there's no blood."

Vert heard her gasp softly. "And he doesn't remember that?"

"He said that the last thing he remembered was dropping Grace off at the diner." They both knew that didn't give them much to follow on Stanford's part.

When they got back, Sage was adamant on getting Stanford into the medical bay to examine him. However, they had to pass through the garage and amidst the high tensions, Spinner and Sherman had left the battered Reverb out in the middle of the garage so that when Stanford and the others stepped out of the lift, it was directly in their line of vision. Stanford's eyes focused on the car for a few seconds and then he blinked a couple of times, perhaps unable to believe his eyes. Then, Stanford's face drained of colour making him (if possible) even paler than before and his jaw dropped. He brought his hands to his face and let out a cry of horror. Stanford ran over to his beloved, high tech car before Vert could grab him and collapsed over its front, tracing his finger over the now rough and bumpy paintwork.

"My car!" he cried, distressed, "whatever low life peasant has done this better be ready for a beating!" In spite of himself, Spinner snickered at the irony of the situation. Stanford noticed and rounded on him angrily. "You think this is funny?!"

Vert cut in between the two before Stanford could cause any more damage to himself or Spinner. "Calm down Stanford, the reverb can be fixed," he assured, "and Spinner, please don't make this any worse."

"Fixed!? It's just about destroyed!" Stanford shouted. Vert gave the man a gentle persuasive push to tell him to move on. "We can mourn the reverb later Stanford but right now, Sage really needs to give you a physical exam."

With a growl, Stanford let Vert start to direct him towards the medical bay. Once they reached the double doors to go inside, Vert subtly asked for most of the team to wait outside to reduce any stress on Stanford's part on top of the frightening information he was about to be told. Before beginning, Stanford thankfully realised that he should put some actual clothing on. A little embarrassed but not humiliated, Stanford gladly accepted the clothing that Vert had dug out of his drawers in haste. They weren't exactly matching, or Stanford's idea of fashion, but they would have to do for this occasion. After this point, Sage had managed to get Stanford to lie down on one of the beds so that she could give him a physical examination. Stanford removed the shirt Vert had lent him and he, Vert and Agura watched curiously as Sage began attaching a number of wires to his bare chest whilst asking him a variety of questions.

She looked over at one of her monitors "Your breathing and most of your other vital signs seem to be fine Stanford. The only thing that seems to be abnormal is your heart rate but that seems reasonable considering circumstance," Sage confirmed. Stanford raised a brow but the sentient continued without noticing. "Could you tell me where you feel pain Stanford?"

He seemed to hesitate, "Everywhere," he groaned. Vert suspected that the Brit was still very agitated.

"Anywhere specifically more of a cause for concern?"

"My shoulder and my bones."

"Vert has already informed me that you have an injury to your shoulder. Do you feel an aching sensation within your skeleton, or a stinging one?"

"Aching."

Sage didn't seem too worried. "I suspect your legs, arms and back hurt the most, yes?" Stanford nodded. "That is not uncommon for a biological creature with your infection. Within sentients, the process is much worse as the mind is forced to recite and recreate the biological information but as an organic creature, your bodily organs and systems alter and reform themselves in one transition. Some of your bones may have fractured or chipped during your transformation, explaining the pain you feel now."

The humans wished that Sage would break the conversation and actually explain Stanford's 'condition'.

"Transformation? Infection? Sage, is something wrong with me?" Vert and Agura shared an awkward glance. 'Wrong' would be an understatement.

Sage seemed to look at Vert for a start and he understood. He took a step closer to the man and sighed. "Alright Stanford, do you remember when you got bitten by that wolf creature in that battle zone a few days ago?"

"Of course I do, why?"

"Well, turns out Sage knew what they really were and they aren't good news man."

"So they've given me some kind of disease?!" he gagged.

"No, Stanford, it's much more complicated than that," Vert said, "Look, this is really going to freak you out and I apologise for that, but there is a reason as to why you can't remember what you did for the past few nights, and keep waking up in the desert with unexplained injuries."

"Then tell me what's causing it!" Stanford snapped, beginning to grow impatient.

Sage was the first to react. She approached Stanford with a needle and took his arm in her luminescent hands. Before he could protest, she had injected the needle into his inner elbow. The blood sample that she collected seemed to be anything but normal. The liquid was discoloured, almost to the point of being brown. Stanford grimaced as she placed the sample into one of the machines, then pulled up an image on one of the monitors. The picture on was heavily magnified but it showed a cluster of red dots – a biological image.

"This was the appearance of Stanford's red blood cells three days ago. This is a very normal human red blood cell count," Sage said. The machine beeped and then another image was uploaded onto the monitor. The humans frowned. There were a number of invading, black smears on the image that seemed to replace and outnumber the red blood cells. "This is the sample I just took. The invading, gene-pathogens are from the creature that bit Stanford. They have multiplied and spread rapidly since-."

At that point, Stanford seemed to enter a point of panic. "You mean to tell me that those things are inside me, doing who knows what to my body!"

"Stanford, we do have a clear conclusion as to what is happening to you and we should be able to provide you with a cure soon enough but it is first paramount that we tell you what your condition is causing you to do."

Stanford let out a loud groan in defeat, flopping back against the headboard in annoyance. Vert sighed.

 _"_ _Oh boy. If he's angry now, there's no telling what he'll do when we tell him the truth,"_ he thought.

"These pathogens are naturally occurring parasites within the creatures' bodies. From further research, I have discovered that they are stored within a gland in the creature's mouth and they are released in the saliva when the creature bites with the intention to infect."

"And what exactly do these pathogens do?"

Vert, Agura and Sage all shared the same knowing expression.

"What?" Stanford asked defensively.

"The beasts use them to procreate, Stanford," Sage seemed to stutter, "when they bite an advanced being like a sentient or human, they release these pathogens into the chosen host. They contain large portions of the beasts' DNA and they spread, multiply and replace the host's cells, thus …. turning the host into the creature."

"Here we go," Vert whispered to Agura in dread. The colour drained from Stanford's face once again.

"What? This is the most absurd-."

"Stanford, you have to believe us buddy," Vert said, placing his hand on Stanford's shoulder, "that beast that's been attacking the town, terrorizing the locals, it…it's you!" Stanford seemed to recoil, his eyes fixed on Vert in horror. "I know it's crazy but trust me, it's the truth! Those scratches on the reverb, they weren't made by a weapon and the reason you woke up wounded in the desert is because we've been chasing you all night, trying to bring you under control!"

Stanford sat there paralysed with shock, unsure of what to say or do.

"You have been transforming nightly, Stanford," Sage explained slowly, "the creatures are nocturnal, so the setting of the sun triggers the pathogens to become hyper active and produce more toxins which take over your mental and physical functions, transforming you into the beast until dawn the next morning."

Stanford's face contorted in disgust and horror before he let out one of the most horrified shrieks humanely possible (so loud at least that Agura and Vert had to ask themselves if it was humanly possible). Stanford put his head in his hands in despair. "No! It can't be true! It can't be!" Stanford began to panic. "Me?! A member of the British Monarchy and 189th in line for the royal throne a bloodthirsty, drooling multiverse werewolf!" Stanford cried in despair. "It can't be possible!"

"I'm afraid it is Stanford. We're sorry." Agura braved Stanford's outburst to try and comfort her frantic teammate but he seemed inconsolable.

"Oh what would become of me!" he spluttered - his pitiful wailing seemed to be carrying throughout the entire hub. "Grandad would mount my head on his wall as a hunting trophy! I'd be a wolfskin rug! I'd be disowned, or worse, Simon might even find out!"

Agura rubbed Stanford's shoulder gently. "Stanford, you need to calm down."

"You calm down," he hissed, "I'm doomed to turn into a flea bag every night for the foreseeable future!"

"Not if we can help it," Vert cut in, "Sage is confident that she can find a way to cure you."

Stanford breathed a long sigh of relief, "how long will that take?"

"I am hopeful that we will be able to get the cure into you in the next 2 days, if not tonight."

"And what if I do … turn tonight?"

"You will be restrained in the hub, with no risk of harm to anyone." Stanford seemed a little bit calmer but he was still very nervous and on edge.

"So, what is the cure exactly?"

"I am afraid that I do not know exactly Stanford but it is likely to involve modifying samples of saliva from you or the creatures that infected you." Sage the turned to Vert and Agura who – now that the situation was calm – were about to keel over. "Be sure to take a few hours of rest team. I will monitor Stanford's condition from here." That was music to Agura's ears. It was five in the morning and she hadn't slept properly for nearly 2 days.

"Okay Sage. Let us know if you need help with anything," Vert nearly yawned as he and Agura left the medical bay, the metal doors clanking shut behind them.


	9. Complications

Vert groaned and shuffled about under his bed covers, blinking tiredly. His hand emerged from under the covers as he started blindly fumbling around for his phone on the nightstand. He managed to grasp it. He turned it up to face him. He blinked tiredly, squinting to see. 12 PM. He yawned and shifted to sit up but he was temporarily blinded by a beam of dazzling sunlight. The curtains had been left open a peep, allowing the sun to peek through as it made its orbit across the sky. Once he finished blinking away the spots dancing along his line of vision, courtesy of the bright light, he swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stopped to think for a moment but then proceeded with putting his shocksuit and boots on. He stumbled out into the hall five minutes later, quickly finding his way to the garage.

He was quite surprised (and a little embarrassed) that he was the last one to arrive. Even Spinner had made it there prior to his arrival. Even Stanford. Stanford in his dangerous condition who stood with a look of desperation in his eyes. Trying to hide his anxiousness and fear behind scoffs and sighs of frustration.

"Sorry Sage," Vert apologised, addressing the sentient whilst sweeping his hair back. "Have you come up with a solution?"

"Indeed, I have Vert," She gestured to a new device strapped to the front of the buster. It didn't look capable of Sage's creations. "Tezz has been helping me with assessing the creatures' biology and we have found an efficient method for procuring a cure."

"Go on."

"Sage's studies and scans managed to pull up a second sentient account of the species' adaptions for survival," Tezz cut in. Vert noticed Stanford rolling his eyes out of the corner of his vision. "A study of biology, from a leading blue sentient scientist who managed to kill one of the beasts and examine it. From his examinations, he managed to string together a theory about their bite capabilities. The DNA virus does not come from the teeth as Sage and I once suspected." Vert pondered. That had been one of his theories. That it had operated like snake venom. Those teeth marks on Stanford were deep enough to draw blood and create shallow holes for a passage to the bloodstream. "The creatures possess a gland on the roof of their mouths that secrete the toxin when activated by said beast's desire to-."

Stanford coughed loudly to interrupt. "Is the science lesson really necessary? I don't want to know about what sick things they did to me. All I care about is how you're going to fix me."

Tezz growled. It was Vert's turn to roll his eyes.

"Grateful as ever," Agura scoffed.

Vert thought Stanford was only being selfish. Yet, then again, the man was visibly worried about his ordeal and wanted nothing more than for it to be over with. He could understand Stanford's irritable mood.

"The task at hand may not be easy Vert. The machine is self-operating but you must insert it into one of the creatures' mouths to extract a sample of saliva. Hopefully then, I can use this to create a new virus that will match the one currently invading Stanford's cells and they should cancel each other out."

"Alright, so we've got a mission and an objective." Vert confirmed. "Zoom, could you possibly stay here and help sage keep an eye on Stanford? We'll need as much power as we can get and I don't want to risk anyone else getting bitten. Not again."

"Agreed," Spinner cut in, "we don't need two man eating killers running around our base." He threw his thumb back at Stanford, who sighed and folded his arms.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Vert?" Zoom asked, "isn't Agura the one who tamed the beast last time?"

"Sorry Zoom," Agura apologised, "we'll need the tangler for close range shots on this mission."

"Though can you blame the kid? Last night, if Tezz hadn't got to us in time, he'd be in Stanford's digestive track right now."

Zoom and Stanford both grimaced and shared disturbed glances. Stanford laughed nervously. "I…tried to eat Zoom?" Stanford noticed the array of expressive faces in the room. Zoom scowled at Spinner who ducked behind Sherman. "Blimey. Sorry about that mate."

"No harm done dude, don't worry. You weren't even close."

"Speaking of which…," Stanford growled, looking at Spinner who was grinning sheepishly, "is there anything else about last night you want to tell me?"

"Not much. You destroyed a couple of cars and attacked sheriff Johnson but apart from that…" Spinner was cut off by his brother's elbow in his ribs.

"I don't remember doing it," Stanford admitted rather suddenly. "I just remember feeling really sick when I dropped Grace off for work."

Vert walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. Now that Stanford had calmed down, Vert could see just how afraid the poor man was. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I had just dropped her off when I suddenly got a terrible headache. I tried to get back to the hub but my head was hurting so much that I couldn't drive the reverb and I crashed into a cactus patch."

"Yeah, that's where we found the Reverb abandoned."

"I got out and tried to call for help but something happened with my back. M-my legs went all wobbly and I couldn't stand up right. After that I just remember the pain. My head felt like it was going to explode and I was lying on the floor. Next thing I know; its morning and you guys are all looking at me like I'd been raised from the dead."

"Alright, now that we've decided on who's going, we need to get a move on, team," Vert cut the conversation short. "Spinner, could you go and fetch the battle key? I need everyone else to their vehicles. Zoom, Stanford, you can't help us here so you'll need to follow Sage's instructions."

Vert made his way to the Saber just as Spinner came rushing in with the key. He was about to close the windshield but he noticed Stanford approaching him with an apprehensive look on his face. "Stanford?"

"You will be back by the time I end up attacking the hub, right?" Stanford asked quietly, with a pleading tone.

"Don't worry, Stanford, we'll do the best we can," Vert assured him, "I won't let you end up stuck like that. I promise."

Stanford gave him one last worried glance before Vert started up the Saber and sped down the ramp. The rest of the team did the same as Stanford watched from a distance. The brit heard Zoom and Sage come up behind him. "Do not worry Stanford. I am very confident that Vert will find a solution. As he always does."

"Yeah, don't worry man, Vert will pull through."

"I know Vert will, but what about me?"

Zoom sighed. "You're overthinking this, trust me. How about we go to Zeke's and get some drinks to take your mind off it? Sage, would that be alright?"

"As long as you return much before crepuscular light. Or as you humans would call it; the sunset."

LINE BREAK LINE BREAK

The portal opened into the dark landscape as the five sentient vehicles soared through and crashed down onto the barren, blackened earth. Vert looked up above the familiar spiralling trees that touched every corner of the sky. Now that everything around then was calm, he had a fighting chance to survey the area around them. The outlines of these trees were faint because of the sky. Unlike an Earthly sky, which would be tinted either orange, grey or blue by clouds or rain – this sky was wholly pitch black. No clouds, just the empty nothingness of space beyond its atmosphere. There were no stars in this sky, the only centrepiece being a huge, crimson, full moon which provided the only light. Vert wondered if there was only eternal darkness in this zone. A faint, eerie red glow that covered the entire landscape apart from the areas shaded by the trees. The darkness in the sheltered brush was absolute too. Vert could understand why the creatures had been easily able to attack Stanford by surprise. The man would never have seen them coming.

"So what's the plan Vert?" Spinner whispered.

"Alright, we're going to find one of the creatures and separate it from its pack. AJ, Sherman and Spinner, whilst we're doing this, I need you to keep the rest of the pack occupied. We'll disable and restrain the one wolf and use Sage's device to get the antidote."

"Sounds good," Agura concurred, "we can separate the pack using long range attacks as long as they aren't chemical explosions. We can't risk setting the forest on fire. After that, we can herd one to the canyon and corner it."

"That would be easier if we had the reverb," Spinner muttered, remembering how animals were typically repelled by the car's high pitch frequencies.

"True, but we have the Splitwire. Electromagnetic blasts cannot ignite fires," Tezz cut in.

"Then we're all set. Burn rubber guys, Stanford's humanity is depending on us."

"Yeah. I'd much rather be stuck with a whiny, grumpy human Stanford than a hairy, aggressive mutant that would eat me if I got on his bad side."

Some of the team members groaned. "What? The jokes make me feel better."

"I still can't get over the fact that these things made him so brutal. Stan's not exactly a stronger guy," AJ admitted.

"Stanford has no control over his aggression. A human settlement is no place for such an animal. It's likely that our presence triggered his instincts, quite violently."

"Tezz is right," Agura said, "what we saw last night, that wasn't Stanford trying to eat or infect anyone else. At least not quite."

"In retrospect, Stanford is probably very lucky to have gotten off with little complication. I have been reading into the intricacy of the topic and I have found one or two cases, sentient and not, of beings being badly injured or even killed during the transformation process. Though, it appears that in Stanford's case, he loses his thought processes before the worst of the transformation takes place."

The team continued in a convey for the entire journey into the deep forest. Nobody wanted to stray from the group or path for fear of a repeat of the last encounter with this forest. Though the team were determined to avoid radio silence, just to stop the eerie atmosphere. On the other hand, that made some of them – mainly Agura and Tezz worried that they might miss something. Regarding Agura's experience and Tezz's calculations, they would be right.

Within the first five minutes, Agura began hushing everyone, sure that she'd seen something move. At the moment she confirmed it, a pair of piercing red eyes became apparent in the darkness, scaring it away. Snarling could be heard as the creature drew itself up, hatred burning in its brilliant red orbs.

"Showtime, team."

As if on que, the buster's ramp was lowered and stamping on the gas, Vert propelled the saber over the top of the creature before it could turn around and run. Once he turned around after landing, his headlights hit the monster and his eyes widened. He was hit by not only crimson eyes but a mahogany coat, covered by brindle. Vert immediately recognised the hound as Stanford's attacker.

"That's the one that got Stanford!" Vert gasped

"Really?" Tezz asked, leaning forwards to get a better look. "That assumption is probably correct, Vert. This seems like an alpha male of the species and probably our best option." The back panelling on the Splitwire started to open up, revealing Tezz's infamous shock collar. The beast didn't seem to like this as its hackles began to bristle as it gnarled at them. To stop it from running backwards, Vert pulled out the blades on the saber. It eyes darted back and forth, when it suddenly tried to dart back into the woods.

"No!"

The tangler's winch darted out from the car like a striking snake, latching onto the thing's rear leg and bringing to straight to the floor. Before it had chance to escape the team were upon it, wrapping it in winches and shock wires, momentarily paralysing and tying it up. Vert saw his window of chance. It was now or never. He jumped out of the Saber and sprinted over to the fiasco of wires and cables, carrying his sword and Sage's device with him.

"Sherman, AJ, I could use a hand here!"

The other vehicles cut in, creating a ring blockade as Sherman and AJ abandoned their vehicles to help Vert.

"What do you need bruh?" AJ asked with a sense of urgency as Vert crouched by its head.

"See if you can pry its mouth open so that I can use the device."

Making sure not to place their hands into its mouth, they began to try to pry its mouth open. However, the creature tossed its head in its restraints, keeping its mouth shut tight to stop the men. Vert faced it, also trying himself to open its locked jaws. He groaned in effort as the creature kept up its stubborn standoff. The creature insisted on keeping its mouth locked tightly shut. Though Sherman and AJ had seemed to have relinquished pressure. He turned around to see why and noticed that they were staring into the forest on their right side. Then, without warning, another beast came flying over the top of the buster with teeth bared. Sherman and AJ had time to stumble back, but Vert was caught right in the crossfire as the barrage of teeth and claws landed on top of him in the brush. The blur of sandy fur and azure eyes had him pinned to the ground, with Sherman and AJ too occupied by the other wolf that was straining to get free.

"Vert!"

Sure enough, Vert found himself wrestling with the monster. He had somehow managed to grab his sword during the mayhem and he now found that he was holding it like handlebars, with the blade held against the animal's thick chest fur to stop it from reaching him. It snapped and snarled wildly, gnashing teeth coming only inches from his neck. He was surprised. This thing wasn't after an arm or leg, this thing wanted his jugular! He kicked his legs violently, hoping to knock this thing off him. It responded by digging its claws deeper into his forearms to hold him down. He bit his lip down as to not cry out as he felt the knifes pressing against the shocksuit armour. He come to feel the sensation again after this had happened with Stanford's beast but this time, the creature was more than intent on holding his down, as the fabric started to tear. Getting distracted could prove fatal at a time like this. His boot somehow managed to find the creature's belly and a sharp kick to the ribcage made it think otherwise for a second. Only a few but it was enough time for Vert to take the sword from the creature's throat and jam it between its teeth to prevent his face from getting chomped. At that moment, Tezz finally managed to center his aim on the beasts, shooting them both with electromagnetic blasts. The other creature finally freed itself from the winches and stole off into the night with its companion as Vert struggled to pull himself to his feet. Sherman, AJ and now Agura ran over to him and pulled him up.

"Vert! Are you okay, it didn't bite you bud, did it?" AJ's mouth was ajar as he gestured to the ripped shocksuit, partially revealing the flesh.

Agura noticed. "No. that was a close call, though."

Vert examined the tiny scratches on his skin over the areas that his shocksuit hadn't managed to protect. "This is gonna be harder than we thought."


	10. Cutting it close

There had been several occurrences where certain individuals could quote Vert on his ability to thrive under pressure and adapt under change better than his peers; perhaps a reason why he fit the role of a leader so well. Though, now, as he forced the saber close to its physical limits – the car giving unsettling jolts and groans as it crashed over the uneven ground – he was concerned that he was starting to lose that reputation. He could only set his eyes on the bends, lumps and disturbances in the road, with the team following close behind. Worry was starting to brew in his stomach and he felt that if he didn't focus on something, he'd be not only losing his bearings, but his mind too.

He gripped the saber's steering instruments with force out of concentration, frustration, _both combined,_ as the slight, shallow lacerations on his arms burned uncomfortably. Vert reminded himself that they were worthy sacrifices, along with the damage to the saber, as long as it meant that they could save a life. Between, subtle scars and Stanford's life, the decision could click instantly into gear, without the need for lines on paper. Just like the leader, the artillery driver had never asked for this and had been forced onto thin, treacherous ice, without a lifeline to cling onto. The team could save him from the deadly waters, save him from being trapped in his own mind, forever. Forever, or what would be the rest of a short, miserable life. The walls were closing in and they were running out of time.

As if to prove his thesis, a blue glow started to radiate from the saber's control panel, taking the form of a certain blue sentient. With the anxiety starting to bubble over, Vert could already predict the coming conversation. Sage also seemed to know that.

"You must hurry, Vert." Sage's voice held urgency, already atypical. Vert's mind was already conjuring up many reasons as to why. Hours were passing them by and Stanford was bound to be deteriorating.

"We've had one failed attempt, Sage. We're trying to locate the creatures," he paused. He felt like he had to ask, "How…bad is he Sage?" Sage's eyes darted to the left for a moment. ' _He's worse than before_ _,'_ Vert knew.

Vert's heart was thrumming against his bones and starting to climb into his throat when she answered, looking at him with pleading eyes. "The efforts that Zoom and I have put together are no longer efficient for keeping us from losing Stanford."

Vert heard the reactions of the team, realising that they must have been quietly listening.

"Keep us from losing him?" Spinner repeated, in a tone laced with softness and worry. It was unusual for Spinner not to be trying to lighten the mood with jokes, only adding to the indicator that Vert wasn't the only one who was worried. "He's struggling, already?"

"He has displayed several … worrying symptoms since Zoom brought him back to the hub. Human symptoms I am sure, though. Nausea, poor-coordination, muscle soreness, feverous perspiration. Though, his mental state worries me-."

"You mean he's becoming aggressive?" Agura asked softly.

"Not aggression that we would come to expect," Sage corrected, knitting her fingers together. "Physically, Stanford is suffering from the increase in pressure on his bodily functions. Consequently, he is under unhealthy amounts of stress that are intensifying his struggling. Although we may have provided him with some temporary clarity in telling him about his condition, I fear that now it is causing more damage than benefit."

"Meaning?" Spinner continued from where she left off.

"Now that Stanford understands his illness, by my observations, he seems terrified by the inevitable. Zoom has been trying to calm him through casual conversation, but Stanford is only escalating the severity of the situation by panicking about what might happen."

"Poor dude," AJ sighed, placing forward his sympathies and first input in the conversation. "but wasn't it the moon causing the mutated thingys in his body to start going crazy the first time?"

"You are correct AJ," Tezz answered for Sage, "However, the viral microbes have been inside Stanford's system, untampered with for close to 70 hours." Vert raised a brow. Tezz had obviously been reading up about the topic. Whether it was for the latter's love for science or actual concern for Stanford: nobody would know. "In the same way that the hours that Stanford spends as a beast are fluctuating, so are the triggers for the virus. With a diminishing human white blood cell count that cannot keep up with the spreading of the foreign material, the microbes will have entered his nervous system and quite possibly, his brain. If they reach the INSERT, the part of the brain that controls conscience and emotions and they tap into the nervous system and begin to cloud his ability to make rational decisions…" Tezz paused as if even he appreciated the consequences of the shattering conclusion he was working towards.

"You must take extreme caution, Sage. If the microbes are in his brain, so will their genetic makeup." He paused as the passed a dangerously deep crater in the road. "They are intensely developed to react to their surroundings and protect their host body in order to preserve the species' survival. If Stanford is feeling threatening, the amount of toxins in production will increase and so will the risk of his condition becoming out of hand."

"Tezz's explanation is correct. Likewise, just like nocturnal activity affects him, as do his emotions now. Our priority must be to keep his emotions balanced. If he continues to experience heightened bursts of stress, along with any other sudden spurts of strong emotions like fear or excitement, we run the risk of sacrificing Stanford's self-control."

"You mean we've got a walking time bomb on our hands?!" Spinner exclaimed.

"Theoretically, I'm afraid so," Sage sighed, "and so it is a risk for me to administer with any non-essential treatments, as I cannot afford to distract his focus."

"Not whilst his instincts are screaming out at him to lash out and defend himself in response to any threats."

There was some movement from Sage's end as Zoom appeared in the hologram feed. The Mhuy Thai expert appeared to be a little rough around the edges on close inspection; his brown eyes somewhat harrowed and more messy strands of hair hanging over his headband than usual.

Zoom wiped his brow, breathing out a deep huff of air, exhausted, "it hasn't gone physical yet, but Stanford is still having a major meltdown."

Vert's eyes narrowed in concern as he watched from inside the saber, "whatever happens, Zoom, don't put yourself in harm's way. If Stanford becomes hostile, the last thing we want is anybody else getting bitten." _Or killed._

"Yeah, well, as long as you guys get back on time, we should be safe."

"sorry for the bad forward planning," Vert scratched the back of his neck.

"Don't sweat it Vert, it caught us all of guard," Zoom sighed. "I probably made a mistake in taking him to the diner. He didn't last half an hour and Grace kept offering to take him to the hospital."

Vert cringed a bit, "And now?"

"He's…. not much better. Though," Zoom cracked a weak smile, "I'm not sure how much of it is pain and how much is Stanford being … Stanford."

"Yeah, well, let's be optimistic, or else the Za might just be an appetizer compared to Zoom."

Zoom didn't reply to the remark, he just rolled his eyes to what couldn't possibly be another terrible 'joke' from Spinner.

Vert was about to speak up when Agura's voice cut through him just in time for him to notice a dark shadow leap clean over the saber and disappear down a trail branching off from their own path.

"There!" Vert exclaimed, slamming his foot down on the breaks so that the saber screeched over the stones and leaves to a halt, creating a momentary dust cloud to be kicked up into the air. He looked back at the screen for a split second of pause, "sit tight Zoom, we'll be back soon."

When he got to thinking about turning the Saber around to give chase, Agura had already taken the initiative and gone ahead of him, the Tangler's engine roaring as if it got a sudden thrill out of the hunt. In the off-road scrambler's ideal terrain, Vert struggled to bring the Saber up beside it. Vert managed to push the Saber up behind the ATV's far tyre. "Okay, what's the plan Agura?"

As if to answer any prayers of the 'golden' opportunity going to waste, the trees were starting to dissipate from a large barricade of dense, impenetrable forest into a scatter of spindly, sparse pines, narrowing the probability of the creature, black as night, from escaping into the dark. Agura's eyes narrowed in on the near distance, where every tree had all but gone, seemingly swallowed up by a huge, jagged crevasse. An even uglier scar on the landscape that seemed to be more eerie and black than the rest of the terrible zone, if that was possible, of course. "Box it in," Agura instructed almost robotically, "AJ and Tezz, take the right. Everybody else, the left. I'll take it head-on."

"And what exactly are we doing?" Spinner asked.

"Closing off any escape routes. It'll have to push through us if it wants to get away."

In a barricade of sorts, the team started to cut away at the already short gap between the bottomless pit and the safety of the dense wood until the creature found itself cornered. It careered to a halt, looking between the beams of the headlights and the emptiness of the ravine. Vert cut it off from the left and started to analyse the target. Sleek, ebony fur, jade eyes, but pint-sized – less of a challenge. Vert was about to get out of the Saber as the tangler rolled up to complete the corral.

"Careful Vert," she warned as Vert climbed out of the Saber, sword in one hand, Sage's device in the other. The beast looked over Vert through anxious, yet burning eyes. They flashed from him and then down to the depths of the ravine. As Vert pushed forwards, his boots crunching over fine stones, the beast's back paw slipped on the edge of the cliff, a few rocks tumbling down into the shadows. Vert didn't hear the crackling of the stone, if they indeed had hit the bottom. The animal wheeled around to look over the edge as this continued for several, long seconds before Vert could move. As his feet crunched in the dust, its muzzle was peering deeper down into the space between the rock faces. Vert froze. The canine glanced down, body in a sort of downward slouch. Vert reached out reflexively as, amongst shocked gasps and dropping jaws, the creature stretched its claws, removing any connection between flesh and rock and simply dropped silently down the rocks. Astonished, Vert raced to the edge, not only to see a contradiction to his mind, that had assumed the worst but feel a surge of spur-of-the-moment relief. Mainly due to context and desperation.

The ravine, in some multiversal era, had indeed snatched a portion of the battle zone. A few sickening metres of vertigo and nausea down, between the two steep faces of rock; the final resting place for an ancient tree. The plentiful array of splayed branches on either end had perfectly wedged it between the gap, creating an unstable ledge-bridge over the ominous eternity beneath. The beast steadied itself on the trunk of the tree with its claws, the marred wood groaning and crooning under the sudden weight. Then, maybe, it looked at Vert and _sneered_ _._

Trick of the light perhaps, or maybe it _did_ sneer. The species' intelligence remained a half-uncovered mystery, with plenty of grey areas. There were cataracts blinding their completed prophecy. Blots on the information. They didn't have the pieces in between, because these creatures could be both tactical _and_ mindless. Their pack was unified, a well-coordinated team. They could use the terrain to their advantage and understand themselves and each other. HELP each other. Yet, at the same time, they were still only animals. Predators, territorial and brutish for the sake of survival. Said similarities that they shared with Stanford.

Stanford, (or rather what was consuming him) could only be as human as his changing mental capacity would allow. Though, Vert knew he wasn't the only one who thought that when he looked at the monster, he could see that part of it was not cut from the usual cloth. Sparks of curiosity, awe and even recognition in such toxic green eyes. How Stanford would have behaved if the disease had spared his human mind in all instances? Still beastly and daunting in every physical aspect but still only an obscurity on the man beneath. Anyone who knew Stanford well enough could picture it. A situation so mismatched that it would be laughable if it were indeed harmless and an easy-fix. Not a regal, powerful, instinctive survivor – just Stanford. Still animalistic and short of terrifying, but really just harmless. Harmless to them, clumsy and terrified of his own body, if not whimpering and pathetic. Regardless, he would still understand. He wouldn't devour anybody. Vert and the others had only seen one or two sudden glimpses of this, when sometimes, the monster was dormant enough to release its choking hold on Stanford and allow a little, liberated piece of the man's character to appear briefly.

Slowly, but devastatingly surely, less and less of this behaviour was allowed to shine through. Critically sick and left to stumble about in the dark, lost – any calm would soon shrivel away in the harsh clutches of mindless rage. An ugly façade. Scrabbling claws, gaunt eyes, hot breath and slobber like magma, fronted by a mouth full of needlepointed knifes …. that was all. That was the scary part. Once they reached the end of this tunnel of madness, the being seeing the light on the other side would be something they could no longer call 'Stanford'.

So Vert sneered back at the creature; even if it was a childish decision, it made him experience a twinge of retribution for Stanford because even when (when, not if) they cured him, he would need a bit off assistance and maybe therapy to get over this.

The others had now recovered from the surprise and had come to join Vert. It was only after taking one glance that Agura sprang back into protocol, as the Tangler went hurtling over the edge of the gap, landing safely and relatively smoothly on the other side. The beast snarled in response, warning for the two-legged creatures to keep their distance.

The Tangler was meanwhile balancing itself between both sides of the ravine like a spider hanging from two separate strands of web, whilst under scrutiny from the creature below. Then, just like a spider would strike a fly, the winch cable fired like an arrow and went travelling at high speed towards the creature. Somehow, the animal managed to pull away, sidestepping the snare. The winch hit the tree bridge with an unsettling crunch as some of the bark crumbled away, lightly jostling the tree. Agura tried a second shot in jest after mumbling under her breath but not losing her composure. The winch cable pulled free from the tree, leaving a hole in the rotting wood. This time, the winch cable landed underneath the creature and wound itself around its legs, the creature wrapping itself in more and more of a cocoon of wire as it struggled.

There were no cheers of success. Everybody was holding their breath in hope that this wouldn't end in disaster. Using its extendable axels, the Tangler propped itself back and climbed backwards up over the ridge, where everybody was waiting. Immediately, before the creature could wiggle out of its wire bindings, Sherman, Vert and AJ were racing towards it with Agura and Tezz following suit. The strongest of the men pinned it down before it could writhe out of anybody's grip. With Sherman kneeling over its shoulders and AJ holding the rest of its body, Vert kneeled by its head. Tezz and Agura stood close by, with Tezz scratching his chin in careful consideration.

They didn't have much time. "Tezz, how does this thing work?"

Tezz kneeled beside him. "Sage has since relayed her instructions to me. The device works automatically to extract the toxins once it locks into a certain position. But first, we have to get its mouth open."

Vert signalled and with Sherman, he grabbed the creatures muzzle before it could snap at them. Tezz activated the machine which started to buzz and whir as the creature whined and squirmed, clearly displeased with being captive. As Sherman managed to force its vice-like jaws further apart, eyes widened as the sharp rows of gleaming teeth were uncovered. Vert made a mental note that ending up as a 'werewolf' wasn't the only thing to fear about putting his hands near this thing's mouth. He would have liked to keep his fingers attached, as well as his normal body.

He was torn from staring when the beast started to screech, a horrible, ear-splitting yowling noise as the machine started to work. After a few, deafening cries and the noise whirring from the machine also stopped, everything went deadly silent. Then, as the beast's jade eyes darted to the side and its ears started to swivel like radar dishes. Every present member of the team felt a chill to their bones as a single, lone howl sounded out across the lonely desolation they were shrouded in. One. One more. Vert's eyes widened. Three. Four and five. All separate. Tezz slowly retrieved the device, not taking his eyes off of the trees. As the all looked up, the eyes appeared. Several pairs of glowing disks in the distance. One, two, three …. too many to count. Red, orange, yellow.

"Move! Move!" Vert barely had time to shout as the rest of the pack sprung from the trees in response to the painful cries of their brethren. The BF5 scrambled into their vehicles before they were overwhelmed by an ocean of claws and teeth. Vert had barely caught his breath when he stamped the gas, with the Saber's windscreen splattered with drool and hot breath as the Saber gave off several nasty thumps as the creatures rammed the sides of the vehicles. Vert managed to out speed them, with the slower vehicles like the buster using weapons to push them back as they sped towards the portal. When they got through to the sand and blue sky on the other side, almost everyone agreed that they had never been so quick to close a portal. There were a few complaints passed around as they recovered their breath. Smears on the glass, slow punctures and claw marks on paintwork. Now wasn't the time for that. They hadn't succeeded yet. All they had to do now was get the antidote to Sage and then, they could finally end this nightmare.

* * *

 _ **Update, not dead! I can't promise that I will get this story finished by new year, but I will complete it. There is only about 3 chapters left. Please enjoy and R &R!**_


	11. Misplaced Fury

Agura and Vert were the first ones to barge through the doors to the med-bay, followed by the rest of the group. The doors to the actual infirmary, though, were closed, almost as if Sage had barred anything or anyone from entering. Or exiting. Agura shivered as she shared a nervous glance with Vert. The doors in the hub were metal, and completely mechanic for security purposes. Quite unhackable, high melting points, reinforced – yet they weren't entirely soundproof. They could both hear the sound of worried conversation and hasty footsteps along with what should have sounded like faint cries coming from within. They were muffled by the doors, but far too alive to be the machines or the computers. Too much emotion in the desperate wails to associate them with hydraulics in need of repair. They all crowded around the door, anxious, as the locking mechanisms on the door started to come to life. The group inched closer when the door rumbled open slowly, revealing just Sage. Several prying pairs of eyes tried to see past her and into the infirmary, but an opaque curtain separated the infirmary from the hall. The door hastily shut behind her, as to put a gag on the cries of despair trying to seep through the tightest gaps in the metal. A cover-up.

Sentients couldn't express anxiousness quite how humans could. And though Sage couldn't lose her breath in pants, or sweat, or quicken the beat of her heart – her anxiety nearly mirrored the visuals of the humans. Her eyes were wide, shining whiter than usual and on occasion, her circuits would flicker ever-so-slightly, indicating that her energy reserves were starting to deplete. Her eyes darted about in their connections, searching for the antidote on each of the humans before her. They flashed like bulbs when she identified her machine in Vert's hands. She reached for it and Vert gave it to her willingly, both sharing a brief moment of relief. That relief was silenced at its birth by a louder cry from inside the medical room. Sage glanced over her shoulder, her eyes flashing once more in a panic. The battle force five were becoming restless, starting to try to make their own way into the room. Sage held up her hands to protest.

"I am sorry team, I must keep the medical room free from crowding for everybody's safety. I can only allow two more occupants in to see Stanford."

"I'm going in," Vert said almost immediately, without anybody questioning his motives.

After a brief silence, it was Agura who struck up a response, "yeah, I'm going in too." Vert was about to cut her off when he realised that this wasn't the place to argue. They were running out of time and Agura was just as skilful, if not more so, with the subject. Maybe she could keep Stanford calm during the procedure better than Sage could?

"Alright."

The door opened for a brief slot in time long enough for Vert and Agura to slip through the door before everybody else was shut out. After the door shunted closed, Vert and Agura's eyes adjusted to the chaos around them and they were immediately glad that Sage had ordered everybody else to wait outside. In fact, they were both ready to leave the moment they stepped inside – each fell into their own form of shock. A sickening chill ran down Vert's spine and a wave of pity swam over Agura as another shrill screech bounced off of the walls in the medical bay. Forget the Brit's traditional Englishman accent – Stanford's comical, ear-killing screams were iconic in themselves. Though this sounded like Stanford, there was _nothing_ amusing about these cries. Where usually Stanford would scream girlishly in overblown terror, there was nothing fabricated about these hair-raising cries. They were so authentic that they were surreal. Not terror, or fear. Pain. The sound of such agony too great to be described in words. Agony so rare that the only thing it made you think of was some brutal murder or horrible accident. Like Stanford was tearing his own lungs apart inside his chest. Some of the screams would even dehumanize and then die in his throat and be replaced by a bloodcurdling yowl. Something was most definitely wrong here.

Agura and Vert peered around the curtain and their worst fears and assumptions were addressed. There was a single bed in the middle of the room, shuddering on its legs. Zoom stood to the side, looking down at the frantic Stanford lying there, almost as if he was hurt by his helplessness to make an impact on the situation. The visitors grimaced. Stanford looked worse than ever before. He wasn't steady, or sedate, squirming in sudden jolts that would occasionally change into violent bursts of thrashing as if he was trying to escape his own body. The monitors attached to the bed were bleeping relentlessly, with unsettling green spikes flashing on the screens, indicating that the man's heart was practically hammering against his chest. His breathing was very pronounced and was following either a laboured, or intense rhythm that was occasionally interrupted when the man groaned, moaned, or screamed. His chest was ascending and falling much further than normal like he was trying to gulp down as much air as possible just so he could scream it out again. When Stanford wasn't holding himself, he was gripping the sides of the bed so hard that his knuckles turned a ghostly white. Yet, he was kicking his legs like a stuck horse, as if trying to prevent something from touching him.

For whatever reason, Stanford was devoid of most clothing, which showed the terrifying works going on at skin level. Stanford's body was trembling like a leaf, with his limbs randomly twitching and tensing. His lips would sometimes quiver and he would mumble something indecipherable under his breath. His face was tense, with his eyes screwed tightly shut. Stanford's fair, freckled skin was beginning to turn an unusual shade of pale grey. That wasn't the only thing already…off about his appearance. Stanford's skinny frame was abnormally bloated and it was Agura who knew that she wasn't the only one who must have felt sick to their stomach when she glanced at his muscles and bones pulsing underneath his skin as if his insides were being churned up. As his muscles tensed, it was easier to notice the feverous sheen of sweat that coated his arms and face.

Vert reached out as if to touch Stanford but then shrank away, thinking better of it. He didn't want to startle the Brit. Zoom moved from Stanford's bedside and stood next to Vert. The scout exhaled loudly.

"He's only been like this for a few minutes," Zoom made eye contact with everybody else. "He was talking just before you called and he was sitting up until-," Zoom paused, "it's getting worse fast."

"I have to concur with zoom," Sage said, worried. "I have been documenting Stanford's bodily reactions, and they follow no specific patterns. I worry that they will only become harder to predict," Sage took the device from Vert and quickly laid it on her workspace. She took out a number of chemicals and was about to start mixing them in a beaker when a loud groaning erupted from the medical bed. The four turned around to see Stanford suddenly wrap his arms around his stomach and roll over to one side of the bed, his expression contorting in pain as his face flushed red.

"Isn't there anything we can do to help him, Sage?"

"I'm afraid not. All that can help him now is the antidote I am preparing for him. I am working at my fastest capacity."

Vert didn't doubt that she was. He slowly walked over to Stanford's bedside and put one hand on the side of the bed. Stanford was still hunched over himself in the corner, trembling, beads of sweat running down his forehead. Vert leaned over him slightly. "Hang on in there for just a little bit longer Stan," he said reassuringly, "you've just got to fight it out for a couple more minutes, we've got the cure coming, buddy." Stanford either didn't hear or couldn't react.

Vert sucked in a breath and then mustered up the courage to try and touch Stanford. Agura watched cautiously as Vert shakily placed his hand on Stanford's shoulder. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Vert could feel Stanford's shivers travelling through his palms, along with the movement of sweat underneath his fingers, through the sickly warmth of Stan's skin. For the first few seconds, Stanford didn't react. He was listless in Vert's touch. Though, as Vert made the slightest movement, Stanford suddenly shuddered and then flinched away from Vert's hand as his eyes snapped open. Vert's heart sank deeper into his chest in fear as their eyes met, neither man daring to look away. Vert was frozen in place, too shocked to draw his gaze away. Meanwhile, Stanford was burning holes in Vert with his stare, his unblinking, unmoving eyes stretched as wide as dinner plates. Astonishingly, as Vert's eyes hinted his discomfort, Stanford's expression was completely blank. He was completely emotionless, yet, somehow, his stare was threatening. He was looking at Vert the same way in which a leopard stalks its prey before either animal makes a move. He did remind Vert of a dangerous animal, right there and then and Vert couldn't slake the images of Kalus that came to mind as he continued to stare at the team's gunner. Stanford's eyes, the shade of cheerful emerald had bled into a poisonous blend of acidic yellow and toxic green. His pupils were constricted and the edges of his eyes looked bloodshot.

Quite suddenly, Stanford blinked, his eyes dilating as he finally seemed to focus. Vert was about to use it as an opening to try and negotiate when Stanford's eyes changed again, just as quickly as before. His face tensed up and he _snarled_ at Vert. Vert yanked his arm away as Zoom was already in the process of pulling him away. He had gotten out of there fast, but not before he had caught a glimpse of Stanford's bared teeth that were starting to narrow into fangs.

"Whoa," Zoom gasped, "too close."

Without the threat that Vert posed, Stanford seemed to recoil, pausing for a few seconds before collapsing again in a fit of whimpering.

"Sage, that antidote would be good right about now."

"I am working as fast as possible, Zoom." The three 'conscious' members of battle force 5 in the room watched both curiously and anxiously as Sage mixed an unknown chemical with the saliva sample, the two blending to form a fizzy, pale blue liquid. Sage swirled the vial in her hand, then, taking a needle in her hand, she withdrew a substantial amount of the liquid from the beaker. "Vert, Zoom, Agura, I require your assistance."

"What do you need, Sage?" Agura asked.

"I only have enough time to make one batch of the antidote. As such, I cannot administer the drug to Stanford whilst he is so restless, I cannot afford to miss his bloodstream. We must keep him restrained."

"Won't that stress him out?" Zoom asked innocently.

"I'm afraid so. Though, the longer we leave him, the higher this risk becomes."

"Where do you need to inject it?"

"Preferably in his upper arm. That way, antivirus will be able to reach Stanford's brain at optimum speed."

"Alright." Vert grimaced. Learning from his experience less than five minutes ago, Vert slowly made his way to Stanford's side. Talking softly to avert from startling Stanford, he decided to just move the man's shoulder to turn him over. Vert was shaking a little as he placed his hand on Stanford's shoulder, expecting the man to turn over and snarl at him. He was a little surprised when Stanford seemed unresponsive, keeping himself curled up in a defensive ball. Noticing that it was safe to follow, Agura and Zoom each took a hold of Stanford's wrists, the man struggling a little and trying to wrench himself out of their grip. Sage approached carefully with the medicine in hand, just as Agura and Vert had Stanford resting on his side. Sage suddenly stopped. Agura gasped. Vert felt a light pressure on his wrist. The grip of the hand was merely resting against his skin but somehow, the nails dug in. Sharp nails, more like claws, starting to indent themselves into his skin.

Vert turned around, confused. His face brightened. "V-vert?"

Stanford's voice was hoarse and raspy, probably due to how much screaming he had been doing lately. His eyes were focused on him, but they were half-closed, heavy with fatigue. Stanford was evidently tired of fighting. Vert had thought that he couldn't hold this out much longer before his mind drew a complete blank. Though, if he was talking sense, maybe he wasn't as lost as they once thought.

"Stanford!" Vert exclaimed, beaming.

"Wh-what's going…on?" Fatigue was ripping pauses into Stanford's speech, causing his questions to fall off his tongue between words.

"It's gonna be ok Stanford," Vert said reassuringly. He placed his other hand onto Stanford's lower arm. Stanford's grip seemed to tighten as he tightly clasped Vert's arm like his life depended on it.

"What's happen-ing…?" Stanford squeaked.

"Easy dude," Zoom tried to soothe, "it's all good. Sage is just gonna give you the antidote and then-."

Zoom didn't have chance to finish. For whatever reason, the sight of the smiling Blue Sentient holding the needle of antidote immediately set him on edge. Stanford closed his hand over Vert's arm entirely and the other man had to resist from yelling as his mouth quivered from the sudden pain. Stanford was really digging his fingernails into the flesh so that the tissue underneath was starting to scream from the pressure. Vert looked down and a chill pierced his chest. He could see the nails disappearing beneath his flesh as the skin started to turn an angry, inflamed red. Agura intervened, reaching over and stroking the back of Stanford's hand. This caused Stanford to release his hold a little. Stanford removed his iron black nails from Vert' skin. Vert's eyes widened. Those weren't nails! Those were claws!

"No," Stanford's voice was deep and husky, rising in tone, "no, no, no…," he repeated almost mechanically. Sage was getting closer and Stanford was trying to clamber to freedom, even though they were pretty sure he wasn't capable of walking. "Don't. Don't. Get away!"

Stanford was starting to scream at them, his heart knocking against his ribcage. Vert fought to push the shouting man back onto the bed. He had Zoom and Agura to help but with the way that Stanford was thrashing, containing him was like trying to catch a wet bar of soap. Vert couldn't understand why Sage's presence terrified him so much. He had nothing to hold against the blue sentient, did he?

"Nooooo! Stooop it!" Stanford's accent was starting to disappear, being replaced by unwavering, unwanted howling. This scared the humans into pinning him down so that Sage could finally find the mark for the needle. Stanford growling was muffled by the sheets as his whole body started to violently quake in response to Sage's touch. Stanford's gurglings and rumblings were getting louder, the team's artillery expert making a range of undecipherable sounds. They all had to resist covering their ears when Stanford's ghastly inhuman racket turned into hysterical screeching. Sage finally managed to find the blood vessel, but she had barely pricked his skin before the entire scene descended into madness.

Awwwwrrreeeeooooo!

Everybody was sent scrambling over each other as Stanford's body finally erupted from the pressure. His muscles warped and stretched wickedly, so fast that they group only had to blink and find themselves staring down a furry muzzle, not quite the kind you'd find at the end of a gun, but perhaps just as dangerous. Vert, Agura, Sage and Zoom only had seconds to get through the door, before the monster's face crashed against the metal.

"What did you guys do!?" Spinner cried. The beast was yowling and pounding against the door.

"We didn't do anything!" Vert argued. In truth, he didn't even know what had happened. One minute, he was looking at Stanford and the next, he was looking back at the familiar ghoulish face of a predator. "Sage?"

"That wasn't supposed to occur…," The blue sentient paused for a moment, but in seconds, the right words seemed to dawn on her. "The only explanation I can provide is that the sight of the antidote triggered some sort of receptor inside Stanford, causing his cells to over mutate in order to protect themselves from evisceration. Stanford went into shock before I could even start to administer the medicine. In theory, all we would need is a second attempt-."

A bright shot of sparks fireworked their way out of the door, as the metal groaned, "The base won't hold him for long," Agura stated what they had all been thinking, "we need do something, fast."

Vert's mindset into action, trying to conjure up a solution in record time that would save everybody's lives. This wasn't a safe place. He had no doubt that the beast could weasel its way out of the base to go on a rampage and he wasn't about to allow that to happen, again. Somewhere they could lock him away until he at least calmed down, or no longer be at risk of wiping out the minute population of Handler's corners. The thought of stowing him away sparked an idea of a new hope in his mind. Could they confine him to a battle zone?" No humans, secrecy and interdimensional security. Sure, there were huge risks, but there were even larger repercussions for everybody if they were unable to stop him. The door continued to groan under the force being exerted upon it from the opposite side. Jets of hot sparks continued to fly from the hinges as alarms screamed overhead, bathing the hallway in red. The humans could feel the metal beneath their feet shudder as the monster hauled its body against the door, its cries of mindless rage and frustration merging with the wailing of the alarms.

"Uh…Ideas, anybody?" Zoom asked, still recovering from shock.

Spinner gave a cry and peeked out from behind Sherman, "unless anybody's got any dog treats, that's a big nada."

"Now's not the time for that, big bro!" Sherman called as another howl went rattling down the halls.

"What about a battle zone?" Vert asked, raising his voice so everybody could hear him.

"A battle zone?"

"If we can get him somewhere secure, he'll be easier to handle" Vert assured, "Zoom, I need you to go grab a key."

"Got it Vert, I know just the one," The scout said quickly before jogging off towards the hub archive.

The door suddenly gave a loud groan, and a sizeable crack started to work its' way from the hinges to the middle, as the whole level continued to shake. Vert chewed his lip anxiously. Zoom would never make it back in time. He turned to the rest of the team, "get down to the lower levels! I'll hold him off."

"But Vert!-,"

"You can't possibly defend yourself against Stanford alone man!"

"AJ is correct, the probability of defeating said creature is about 200 to 1."

"Don't worry. I'll try to lead him down into the emergency lift. If we can initiate emergency lockdown in the base, it might buy us some time to-." There was a loud bang as the door started to be crushed inwards. "Just go, I'll be fine."

Sage seemed to reluctantly accept his offer. She handed him his sword, "good luck, Vert. Please be careful."  
As the rest of the team piled onto the lift, the door finally started to shatter. As Vert heard the familiar sound of the hydraulics clicking inside the walls. He swallowed the lump forming in his throat. It would take another minute before the lift could come back up. Before the anticipation killed him, the door finally crumpled to the floor with a clunk. The power in the medical room was off and all Vert could see was the faint outline of a huge figure, centrepieced by two toxic eyes. Vert drew his sword in front of him, perhaps under the false relief that the thin blade of steel could protect his body from whatever the creature wanted to inflict upon him. Vert took a threatening stance. Not that it would help. Vert didn't doubt that the animal could smell or sense his fear. Vert's chest tightened as the anxiety in his throat became nearly unbearable. Vert lowered his sword. The fear made it difficult for him to breathe. Strands of his golden blonde hair flopped in front of his eyes as his breaths became long and shallow. Vert lowered the point of his blade towards the beast.

From the shadows came the wolf. Its massive, muscular body was hunkered low to the ground. Long ginger fur that matched the shade of its owner's usual fauxhawk almost trailing along the sleek flooring. In only twelve hours, the creature seemed even stronger. Even now, it was shocking how choreographed its movements were. How could a disease make somebody agiler? Stanford was anything but elegant, or graceful and now, he could navigate a larger body so easily. No sound. Its body barely made a sound, flowing across the ground. It was moving towards the right, rather than coming straight at him.

"Stanford…," he was trying to be reassuring, but his voice had a gritty, defensive edge to it.

Its ears pricked in response to the sound and it paused for a moment before pinning its ears and snarling. Its lips curled, revealing pinkish gums and gleaming razor blades. Vert swung the sword as the beast lurched forwards, huge claws clicking on the metal. Vert swung at it, the teeth just barely missing his sword. The creature was forcing him backwards, over the platform. A few more steps and he would fall to his death. A few steps forward and his friend would probably eat him. _Great_.

The beast's ears suddenly perked up. It became alert and stared down the hall, into the dark red jade caused by the emergency lights. Vert's ears were by no means as sensitive as the creature's were, but he could soon hear the source of its curiosity too. Faint footsteps. Somebody running down the hall. He could soon make out the figure of a man - Zoom carrying a battle key.

"Vert!" The scout cried. The younger male stopped short of where Vert had been cornered and picked up a scrap of steel from the door. The scout hefted the lump of metal and threw it towards the monster. It hit it on the back of the head with a thump. It whipped around with a gnarl, its fur bristling with rage. The creature moved cautiously, threatened by Zoom's challenge. Then, something changed it its composure and the creature launched itself towards Zoom with an open maw, drool glimmering on the massive incisors aimed for Zoom's jugular. Thankfully, Zoom's agility skills could save his life. He was able to duck and roll to the side before its nose crashed into the wall. The sound of the beast's whimpering was accompanied by the sound of the hydraulic lift reaching their level.

Both leader and scout backed onto the platform, one behind the other as the creature made it to the edge of the platform, gingerly testing its paws on the surface. Zoom inched towards the controls, battle key in hand as Vert tilted his sword towards the gaunt creature stalking towards them. As terrified as he was, Vert stood his ground, tensing up as it slunk onto its haunches. Vert's soft gaze faltered as it was seared by the razor-edge glare of hate. He couldn't face those eyes. Bright, glowing and alive – but not with wisdom or content. They were sickly. Green. Bright, luminescent green. ' _Toxic waste_ ' Vert thought. Like looking at the green pools in which its dilated pupils swam could melt him to the floor. Vert cringed as he edged backwards a bit. Although it was short fused and alert, 'Stanford' seemed to be unstable and quite uneasy. Its breath was coming out in ragged huffs like spirals of steam from its flaring nose. Hot slobber was starting to collect at the edges of its mouth in a thick white froth that clung to its gums and then pooled over onto the floor. It bristled, and then propelled itself forward with a single, powerful flex of its shoulders.

It ducked to the side as Vert tilted the sword so that it was facing off against the blunt of Vert's blade. The scraping of teeth against metal could be heard as its fangs clashed against the steel. In response, Zoom smashed the button and the hydraulic lift jolted before beginning a steady descent. Surprised by the sudden movement beneath its paws, the beast jerked back, growling at the machinery. Vert and Zoom shared a glance. The creature's primal instincts owed it a superstitious opinion on modern machines. It shifted from foot to foot restlessly as it watched them. It leaned over the edge. Vert was about to throw the key to Agura or Sage for safekeeping but there was a piercing yowl from above as the creature dove off of the platform. It barely missed landing on them, but both Vert and Zoom fell back from the impact of the landing. They fell the short distance to the first floor, whilst the key bounced off of the hard floor and landed fatally lodged into Sage's computer matrix.

"Get back!" The blue sentient yelled.

The key emitted a bright light as it split apart, opening into a swirling vortex that seemed to have such a suction that it started to pull the contents of the hub towards its centre. Most of the team members were able to move out of the way, joining hands and darting behind support beams. Closest to the vortex, Vert and Zoom found themselves being dragged towards the gaping portal. Within seconds, the rest of the battle force 5 could only cry out as they lost their footing and disappeared through the spiralling blue matter cloud. To their dismay, the creature could also only do as much. Its claws and heavy body couldn't match the force of the portal and it was sucked into the closing storm shock, leaving a dumbfounded team behind as the interdimensional entrance closed.

* * *

 _ **I apologise for the near two month wait. The ending to this chapter has been a little difficult to bring to a close. On the plus side, this is the longest chapter yet.**_


	12. Disappearance

It was amazing to Agura just how quickly a situation could escalate from bad to worse. One moment, it was chaos. The next, it was an utter catastrophe, the ended with Vert, Zoom and Stanford being sucked through a portal to who-knows-where in the multiverse. Even though she was one of the most level headed members of the group, there was a spell of anxiety brewing in her stomach, causing an uneasy feeling of worry for the missing team members. They were locked inside a battle zone and no vehicles meant no weapons to defend themselves. They would have to defend themselves against the elements, and any other multiversal monsters looking for a meal. Aside from that, there was always the threat posed by Sark, Vandals or Red Sentients. Worse still, Vert and Zoom were trapped with Stanford. Stanford - in no fault of his own, was just as much of a threat to her comrades as their enemies. Stanford had panicked in the face of salvation and the monster living between his bones would now be more agitated than ever. He was succumbing to the mental instability invading his mind and in the face of the events of the last five minutes, now he wouldn't be able to look at Vert and Zoom and understand that they were only trying to help him. He wouldn't be able to remember to forget that they were friends that he once fought alongside. She knew it was commonplace for humans to fear animals. Especially monstrous, nightmare-forged ones like the creatures of the diverse reaches of the multiverse. However, what people didn't usually realise is that animals were usually just as frightened by humans as humans were of them. No animal liked to be cornered and at that point, it would be fight or flight...she just hoped that Vert and Zoom would manage to stay safe.

In the surrounding hub, the entire room was in chaos. Dangerous, sparking live wires hung from the ceiling, lights flickering. Some of the sleek flooring was charred and items both of value and disregard were strewn all over the floor around the askew vehicles as if a mini-tornado had ripped through the base. Spinner and Tezz picked themselves off of the floor whilst Sage and Agura stood, gobsmacked.

"Uhm, can I be the first to ask: what just happened?" Spinner asked as he dusted himself off.

"The feedback from the battle key interfered with the hub's circuits, subsequently causing a portal aftershock."

"Great! And what should we be panicking about?"

"The portal was a temporary tear in the rift, so it is likely that the key has disintegrated with it," Tezz explained.

"You mean to say that they are stuck in there and we don't know which zone they are in!?"

"No, the situation isn't entirely dire. The Hub's system still retains the information for all of the battle keys. I can trace the one Zoom took and create an identical copy."

"Sage is correct," said Tezz, "we can directly program a portal from earth."

"Even so, what do we do about Stanford? I don't suppose he'll be happy about being trapped." Agura folded her arms over her chest.

"Perhaps so, but take this," Sage handed her the small vial of liquid. The antidote. "Under the right conditions, the antidote will still be effective."

"But how are we supposed to give it to him without losing an arm?" Spinner asked, raising his brow. "Didn't you see what he did? Vert was nearly dinner and Zoom could have been the appetizer."

"I'm afraid I do not know Spinner. I will try my best to locate a solution. In the meantime, prepare your vehicles. I have no readings to indicate what might lie in this battle zone."

"Then we need to act fast," Agura folded her arms, "who knows what danger they could be in."

* * *

Zoom groaned as he slowly drifted back into consciousness, his eyes swimming back and forth behind his close eyelids - dry and sore, difficult to persuade to peel open. However, the thin surfaces of his eyelids were not pure darkness; they were a dull orange, suggesting that wherever he was, he was no longer in dusk. He could feel a soft pulsing within his skin, like the baking warmth generated by the sun. His eyes flickered a couple of times before opening and Zoom was immediately forced to keep them shut due to the overhead presence of the blaring sun. He rolled over to shield his face. The ground was hard, but there was a slight shift of material under his body and rough grains scratched and rapped against his cheek. Sand. Zoom sat up, pausing for a moment until his head stopped swirling. His vision seemed to focus. At first, he was under the impression that he was back in Arizona, out on the salt flats but within seconds, the assumption passed. Zoom was sitting in the middle of a desert, but not on earth. The sky was bright, but instead of vivid blue, it was a dull salmon pink and instead of a single sun in the sky, there was two neighbouring each other in the centre of the sky. A maze like structure of canyons and rock pillars lay in the distance, along with smaller mountains and hills, made entirely out of junk. Piles of scrap metal, discoloured iron, steel and sentient fibres lay in scatters, half buried by sand. Spontaneous winds picked up and snaked their way across the desert floor, carrying the sand that mixed with Zoom's ebony hair and hit against the metal heaps with gentle clattering sounds. A coating of dry rust and sand covered his tongue, almost gluing it to the roof of his mouth. Zoom happened to glance over to his left.

"Vert!"

His friend and teammate lay a short distance over in the sand, positioned on his back, motionless. Zoom struggled to his feet and moved over to Vert, collapsing beside him, shaking him gently whilst calling his name. Vert stirred softly, his blue eyes flickering as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"Zoom? Man, where are we?"

"I wish I knew," Zoom replied. "Definitely not on earth."

"Must be a battle zone."

Vert lifted his wrist and tapped his communicator. "Sage, can you hear me? Sage, hello?" He dropped his arm with a sigh.

"It looks like were stuck here."

"Wait," Vert's face scrunched up and Zoom glanced over at him inquisitively. "Where's Stanford?"

Zoom's memory resurfaced and he came to the same conclusion of Vert. "Haven't seen him."

That was a little odd. Considering the events that transpired only minutes ago, Zoom should have expected to wake up in the monster's jaws, or at least staring at death. How can a 10ft tall wolf creature vanish into thin air? If Stanford was around, he should be sticking out like a sore thumb in such an environment. "Do you think he changed back."

"Not likely," Vert muttered, "by the looks of things when we left, Stanford's in a bad way, and he'll only get worse if we don't find him."

A shiver travelled down Zoom's spine, "Yeah, well what if we do find him and he isn't willing to talk terms?"

"I don't know, but we need to do something."

"Any ideas?"

"I'm not sure, but if we are in a battle zone, there is only one way to get out by ourselves. We need to recover a key."

"But we don't have any vehicles." That was working to their disadvantage, and their only weapon was Vert's sword that was sticking out of the ground a few feet away.

"We'll have to try. If the rest of the team don't find us, we'll have to. I just hope that the Reds or the Vandal's don't catch up."

"Ditto."

Zoom helped Vert up and then them the blonde man looked off into the distance. Nothing but metal mountains and horizon. Vert moved with a slight limp to his gait. Probably the stormy portal crossing. They had been passed out in the desert, after all.

"I wish we had Agura here. A survival expert would be good right about now."

Vert laughed, "yeah, but I suppose we'll have to make do. So, if you were a mutant, multiversal wolf, what would you do?"

Zoom sighed, deep in thought. "Find shelter?" He said, gesturing to the rock canyon about a 1/4 mile away.

"Maybe. If the key will be anywhere, it will be in there."

The two men slowly started to walk towards the structures that were jittering like flames under the intense, humid, dust-clogged air. The rock spires slowly got larger at they continued their painstaking walk. They barely said anything to one another, wanting to conserve as much energy as possible - their mouths and minds were bone dry and there wasn't a hint of any water for miles. Their shock suits were designed with air conditioning and lots of different functions for survival, but they could only do so much to save a life. By the time they reached the cool shade, both were panting and Vert had a migraine eating at the back of his head. He slumped down against one of the rock faces and let out a heaving sigh. Zoom sat down against the opposite one, basking in the shade. They spent five minutes recovering, watching their environment wearily.

"We might find the key down here, but we won't find Stanford, these tunnels are too small."

Zoom nodded and turned his head to the left, his neck soaking with sweat. "Though he could fit up there." Zoom weakly gestured towards a steep pile of rocks leading to a ledge. Vert pushed himself onto his knees and squinted. Some of the boulders were disturbed and some were marked up by what seemed to be claws, or a blade. There had been no chance to follow tracks before this. Any disturbance that Stanford would have left in the sand would have been blown back into place. "Even if we do climb it, is it really a good idea to go chasing after him?"

"We need to find him anyway and besides, he might be even worse off than we are."

Vert edged towards the incline and placed one foot down on the boulders, frowning as he started to climb. Zoom, being more agile, soon overtook him. Vert cursed as his foot slipped, Zoom reaching out suddenly, grabbing him and hauling him up onto the ledge, Vert offering him a momentary thanks. The second level of pillars was barely any different to the last. Rock beams almost identical reached up and kissed the sky. Much to their annoyance, the tracks had vanished, their only clues being occasional scuffs on some of the rocks. Vert and Zoom stumbled along the wider paths, glancing around for any sign of Stanford. They moved under several tight underpasses and on one such occasion, Zoom tripped and fell with a cry. Vert knelt close to him.

"Dude are you okay?"

"Ah, I don't know. My ankle-." Zoom stopped talking. The ledge above him seemed _unusual._ Almost as if he saw it move. Then, the deep orange walls seemed to shift slightly and two, lime coloured ovals opened up against the orange. Zoom quickly pieced together the outline from the eyes - it was easy to see him once you knew he was there - and tried to cry out, but all he could manage was a pathetic groaning noise with such a dry throat. Vert was confused by Zoom's sudden fear. Zoom felt terror pierce his heart as the canine shape growled silently, lips curling over to reveal its fangs, curled slightly to the sides. Its blackened gums were stretched taut, as a single droplet of spittle rolled from one of the teeth, sailing through the air until it landed on Zoom's forehead. Zoom flinched and Vert looked up, both shuffling back as the animal snarled, dropping down from the ledge with a heavy thud. Vert armed himself with his sword, but the wolf seemed to be advancing on Zoom who was still on the floor. Zoom tried to push himself onto his feet, kicking the animal's snout. It snorted and shook its head, before retaliating - swatting at Vert and pinning Zoom to the ground with one huge paw. Zoom gasped in surprise, both from the impact of his head hitting against the solid ground and from the force of the giant foot pinning him against the ground. Zoom tried to inhale desperately. The impact had winded him, and he couldn't quite believe just how heavy the creature's weight was. One paw was just about crushing his chest into the floor, and one of many long, curvy black claws was resting tense next to his jugular. If he wasn't going to get eaten, he would be squashed. Just generally crappy options.

Vert moved around the animal in a circle, pointing his sword straight, although it was shaking a little - he didn't wasn't to use it on somebody who was a friend underneath his misleading appearance. The beast's massive head snapped up and Vert jumped as he found himself staring helplessly into the intense, hungry eyes of the monster. Vert chewed his lip anxiously. Intentionally or not, he was crushing Zoom into the ground and Vert was running out of options. Vert slightly lowered his sword, as a threatening growl reverberated from the back of the beast's throat.

"Stanford...," Vert said softly, trying to speak in a soft and reassuring tone, like Agura had done when she had managed to calm him down last time. However, right now, the soft voice - an alien language to the animal - was only making him more aggressive, if not more afraid. Zoom wanted to speak up, but he was afraid that 'Stanford' would retaliate against him. Instead he snorted, glaring at Vert with his fur stood on end, ears pinned as far back as they would go. Vert sighed, relaxing somewhat. "Come on man," Vert pleaded, glancing at what used to be the familiar face of a friend and teammate - now a pool of rage, frustration and pain. It was difficult to accept that his friend was in so much pain - he was still being haunted by Stanford's screams. Audible agony itself, it seemed, Stanford was capable of. _Just how hard had he screeched when he had transformed in the med bay?_ A ghastly, inhuman mash-up of two horribly matching bodies, with one forcing itself to manifest into the other. The leader of Battle force 5 could still hear what he thought was the sound of bones, echoing in the back of his mind. His mind kept associating the image of Stanford's broken body in the med bay with the snapping sounds; bones crunching and breaking like feeble twigs. Vert cringed, _like having your insides tossed into a blender._ He looked back at the wolf and swallowed the bile trying to rise up his throat. The animal had stopped growling; it was now rumbling gently, but it still stood rigid and kept a firm grip on Zoom.

"You said it yourself Stanford," he started, ready to persuade although he was doubtful that Stanford would be able to understand. "You said that you refused to believe that this was possible." Its ears twitched, the canid clearly listening to whatever Vert was trying to say. "So don't. I don't know how it feels to be in there, Stanford, but I can only imagine how much its hurting you right now. You don't want to fight it because it hurts Stanford. But Sage said that you're still here and I believe her. And if you can't remember us, or our mission, then just know that we're only here to help you."

Vert sighed. The wolf's ears perked and it blinked. It was looking Vert right in the eye and its was quiet. It was concentrating, in a trance. Then, as soon as its mood had changed, completely typically: it changed once more. Except, Vert felt a twinge of fear grab him by the spine at the sight of what it did next. Its pupils suddenly constricted and it screwed its eyes firmly shut, whole body starting to tense and shake. Vert backed up as the beast did the same, taking a foot off of Zoom, who rolled over to free himself. It let out a high-pitch yelp as it stumbled against one of the cavern walls. Vert felt empathy gnawing at his stomach. Stanford was trying - the beast was propped against a wall, whimpering like a puppy. Another fit of shaking reeked its way through its body as it collapsed onto its knees. Its lips curled over as it gritted its teeth, ivory enamels grinding against one another to try and find some kind of pain release. Vert and Zoom now leant over it, at a loss of what to do. It hadn't looked particularly well from the start. Its long, sleek ginger fur was bronzing out and looked coarse and scruffy and it was hunched over, with its stomach sucking inwards sharply and then back again as it exhaled. As it sat there in a disgruntled heap, the humans couldn't help but notice how exhausted it looked. The desert air was horribly hot, both Vert and Zoom were drenched in sweat. The wolf couldn't sweat, and instead it was panting heavily, its bone dry tongue lolling out of its mouth listlessly. He was more at risk of heat exhaustion than any of them.

Zoom cringed and Vert glanced over at him. "Just something that Sage said earlier." Zoom became unusually solemn, "Vert, this thing can destroy parts of his brain. Delete his memories." Vert felt a ping of sorrow due to his position of utter helplessness. There was nothing he could do to stop this. The wolf was pawing at its snout, in obvious pain. It couldn't keep itself on its feet any longer, crashing to the floor. Zoom and Vert were at a loss of what to do. If Stanford lost himself to this, Vert and Zoom would be as good as gone and if Stanford did make it back, he'd be forced to live with the wracking guilt of harming his friends. On the other hand, Stanford was too weak to fight this, and he would potentially cause himself more harm in doing so. This disease had killed Sentients - eternal energy beings. Who said it couldn't do the same to a human? Without any better options, Zoom was the first one to resort to the last line of defence. He knelt next to Stanford and reached out, placing a gloved hand onto his face. Vert was sort of shocked, as Stanford didn't react at all, he just seemed to accept that Zoom was trying to comfort him. Either that or he was just too weak to care. Vert knelt by him and did the same in a gesture of solace. Vert gently tousled the fur behind his ear - Sage had said that no anaesthetic had been effective on him, meaning that any drug was just about as useful as human kindness and compassion. Its breathing softened slightly and it cracked its eyelid open a little, glancing at Vert. Vert felt pity prick his heart. He knew that look well. That was anything but cold, it was warming. Though, worst of all, it was a cry for help. Vert could see it now - Stanford knew very well who he was, and he was using the last shred of humanity in him to try and call on them for help. Sadly, Vert and Zoom knew there was little they could do.

Vert wasn't sure how long they sat there for - providing their friend with comfort and reassurance. However, it wasn't long before something else stirred within in Stanford, and this time: it wasn't predatory instinct. The leader and scout moved back as the wolf's eyes glazed over with something else. As quickly as it had fallen, it stood back up, completely disinterested with the humans. Either it saw no threat in the two humans, or whatever it could sense was far more intriguing. It raised its head and softly sniffed the air, its leathery black noise twitching as a gentle breeze carried a different scent through the canyon. Zoom and Vert looked up in astonishment and amazement as the creature moved onto its toes. Neck crested, head high, leaning forwards slightly. From rabid dog to regal. Its raised ears tilted softly, and its brushy tail was twitching softly. Like he was curious, or intrigued. Then, with eyes wide, it started to move, snaking through the canyon. Vert and Zoom sought to follow - Zoom was slowed down a little due to his fall - and they managed to follow his heavy paw steps to a gap in the wall that looked out over the vast, empty junkyard. The wolf was staring intently down on the plains, its eyes unmoving.

"What do you think he's looking at?" Zoom whispered softly.

"Can't tell. Probably something we can't hear," Vert replied, watching the animal's ears go up and down.

Suddenly, there was a strange clap of thunder. A crescendo of familiar rumbling that echoed over the canyon. Immediately, the wolf turned from alert to defensive. Its face twisted in spite, claws tense, hackles bristling, ears back, lips vibrating as a low growling rumbled through its tense body. Vert glanced at the wolf and, with wide eyes, followed his gaze. there was another rumble as a vortex of crimson red erupted out of thin air. Vert and Zoom shared a nervous glance and Vert felt his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach as five vehicles crashed through the vortex. Ruby red paint, metallic spikes, crimson fire and all.


	13. Hunting the Hunter

Since joining the battle force five, Vert had been under intense scrutiny and stress. Previously a one-man show, there had been benefits and hindrances to running a team. This week was nothing short of that, consisting of watching his friend transform back and forth from human to destructive, hyper-active beast, watching him tear up the accommodation that they called home and seeing him nearly die several times over, right in front of his eyes. Though, this time they were in an entirely different level of danger. Seeing Krytus in the canyon below, gathering with his fellow red Sentients, with only a sickening drop separating them - Vert's heart started thrumming in his chest with a gripping sense of terror. The atmosphere around him was tense and rife with fear, with Zoom sharing the same mortified expression and Stanford standing rigid over him. Everything told, it was a horrible situation. Much worse than being stranded in a desolate battle zone with only your friend and an aggressive hungry wolf creature for company. Stanford had almost entirely lost his conscience and was halfway to losing his mind. Yet Vert and Zoom clung to hope. There had to be something human below the fur and flesh, something that was resisting those instincts to sink its fangs into the humans. Nevertheless, animals weren't cruel for the sake of being cruel. They could be grotesque and merciless, but for nothing more than survival and not pure heartless spite. Krytus was a merciless tyrant burning with a different kind of fire. The fire within his shell was unquenchable and was only satisfied by the desire to rule the multiverse with an ironclad fist. Krytus was violent and enjoyed watching his victims perish in the most brutal way possible. Without the Saber, Chopper, or backup, they were at his mercy and the leader's mind was racing as it was conjuring up all the ways that Krytus could try to slaughter them.

His insides recoiled backwards inside of his body in terror, a squeezing sensation clutching at his heart and making it more difficult for him to breathe in the dusty, terrible air. Vert felt disconnected from his surroundings - every touch felt like a punch and the atmosphere was drowned out by the pulsing of adrenaline fuelled blood in his ears. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck lift up across the band of skin uncovered by his shocksuit. He could feel a humid warmth crawling against his neck that made him shiver as he came to recognise the sensation of something breathing into his ear. Zoom was indifferent beside him, body seized up with anxiety as Vert slowly turned his head to glance at Stanford. The sight returned the leader to reality as a wave of impermeable shock travelled up his body. The artillery expert turned mutant was towering over him, a twisted expression on his long face. A monster, turned radioactive by rage. Its entire body was rigid and rooted to the ground yet shaking so violently as if it might explode. Vert had never seen the creature this agitated, not even when it had been staring down the sheriff's gun. Although it seemed to be dangerously aggressive, there was something unusual about this fit of rage. The large animal leaned back on its sturdy legs, with its head lowered and its tail almost tucked between its legs. Vert couldn't read the animals emotions, but the sheen of terror in its dilated eyes was unmistakeable. It was trying to defend itself, but it was motivated by nothing more than fear in its purest state. Something about the presence of the Red Sentients was sending it into a frenzy of fear induced panic. Vert shared a nervous glance with Zoom, continuing to observe 'Stanford'. Its eyes were twitching and trembling softly, but remained irreversibly focused on the antimatter beings, its yellow irises turning from an amalgamation of yellow and green into a bright, almost luminescent shade of dark yellow, russet coloured sparks dancing dangerously around its trembling pupils. Its fur was on end, the thick auburn hair on the back of its neck bristling upwards as if pulsing with a current of electricity. The centre of its weight hung over its rear legs, with its enormous claws disturbing the soft ground beneath its feet. Its ears were flat against its head and the end of its face was wrinkled, revealing the ends of its teeth. Its breathing was constant and harsh as it snorted heavily - its snarling growing louder and more malignant by the second.

Zoom glanced at Vert, "What's wrong with him?" He asked softly.

"I don't know, but if we don't calm him down, he's going to reveal us to Krytus and the Reds," Vert muttered. The growling was starting to echo off of the walls, and it would be only a matter of time before Krytus heard it. Vert begrudgingly snapped his fingers in front of its eyes. "You've got to snap out of it Stanford! They'll see us!" The deep yellow eyes glanced over at him for a moment, before going straight back to staring down at Krytus. Vert tried to move Stanford, but it felt like pushing a cliff and it affected Stanford as much.

"He really doesn't like Sentients, does he?" Zoom whispered to Vert. That made him think about Stanford's reaction to Sage earlier. When he had caught sight of her in the medical bay, he had flipped his lid and panicked, literally transforming in five seconds flat right in front of them. Vert had at first thought that it had been the needle that had startled him. Now, it was disturbing to think that Sage herself could have been frightening him. Sage had said that the creatures were used as servants to the Sentients, often guarding their most prized possessions. However, knowing Krytus and his personality, they were more likely used as slaves and were hunted by the masses. Stanford would have been frightened of Krytus, but he wouldn't have made his blood boil like this, so that was the only explanation that Vert could find.

"Sage did say that the creatures were used by the Sentients, so maybe its instinctive to avoid them."

"Yeah, I can't see Krytus not using anything other than his own people as disposable slaves."

Zoom and Vert looked up as Stanford slinked back onto his haunches, more relaxed but still extremely weary. They were sheltered by a windbreaker of rocks here, so maybe he was feeling less vulnerable.

"I wonder what they're doing here. We've already secured this zone."

"Maybe we should-."

 **"Silence you fools!"**

Vert and Zoom looked at one another and then crouched low, peering over the rocks. Over the deep sound of Stanford's growling, they could just make out Krytus' booming voice.

 **"I don't care about the battle key! We need to find the source of the energy spike. No doubt Sage is behind it,"** Krytus snarled, his voice coated with malice.

"Energy spike?" Zoom asked curiously.

"Could have been that giant portal crossing. As long as they don't find us, they won't find any source" Vert replied.

 **"Then we should keep a sharp eye for humans, Krytus. This is likely another one of Sage's tricks!"** Kyburi hissed harshly.

 **"Indeed. Kytren, scout ahead. If you see any humans, destroy them at will!"**

Zoom swallowed nervously. "Uh, Vert, what should we do?"

The leader looked around frantically for answers. There was nothing but desert and rock for miles. "Maybe we should find high ground, somewhere to signal the team once they arrive."

"How do we get Stanford to follow us?" Zoom asked.

"That's the tricky part," Vert sighed. Stanford was standing his ground and the Red Sentients were on the move. Vert stood in front of him and signalled to the far side of the ridge. At that moment, there was a loud roar as a sphere of fire erupted in the opposite canyon and travelled up one of the rock walls. Kyrosis. This startled the hybrid, as it turned around quickly, almost falling over itself. To the humans' horror, much before Vert could clamp its muzzle shut: the creature tipped its head back to the hazy sky and with its middle sinking inwards, it started up a long, frightened howl. Vert and Zoom rushed to silence it, but the loud unwavering sound carried through the wind across the canyon. When it finally did silence itself, the environment was met by nothing but silence followed by the close roaring of engines. The creature rushed to turn around and run, Vert trying to grab it to try and stop it. His weight did little to ground the beast as it tugged him in a circle, almost lifting his feet of the ground. Losing any patience, it whirled around to snap at Vert's feet, the man hoisting himself off of the ground to avoid the teeth grabbing his boot. He swung one leg over its shoulder, landing unsurely on its back as he tried to escape the animal's jaws.

"Whoa!" Vert cried, grabbing it by the scruff of the neck, as it tried to bolt with him still uncomfortably seated on its back. Vert leaned over to Zoom who had his arm outstretched, holding onto one of the walls. He managed to grasp Zoom's hand just as the creature took a dive towards one of the lower ledges, Zoom being pulled through the open air. Zoom managed to turn himself in the air, landing behind Vert as they all hit the ground, Vert hanging on with one hand, with the other clutching his sword.

"I guess, like that," Zoom said, breathing heavily from the sudden rush of terror. They were both jolted once again, left hanging on for their lives as the animal's front feet hit the ground below as it broke into a sprint. Vert and Zoom were given a first-hand impression of the animal's power as it moved, surprisingly fast for a being if its size. Wind and sand slapped Vert across the face as the animal powered across the canyon maze with ease, almost as if 'Stanford' was travelling with effortless speed, without the use of the reverb. Both humans could feel the creature's gait underneath them as its paws hit against the floor, absorbing its heartbeat and heavy breathing.

"Now that's putting his foot to the floor," Vert muttered, nearly tipping over its shoulder as the animal careered around a corner at breakneck speed. It reached an unseen part of the cavern, scaling a shallow slope to reach another ridge.

"Yeah, well lets hope he runs out of juice soon, I don't know how much longer I can hold on back here." Just after Zoom spoke, the animal dug its claws into the ground and slowed to a grinding halt. Vert managed to regain his balance before falling onto the creatures face.

"Ugh dude! What was that for?" Zoom snapped at Stanford, though aware that he wouldn't acknowledge him.

Vert jumped off of its shoulders, just as the sound of spinning metal started to echo through the passage.

The creature immediately backed away, leaving Vert and Zoom directly in view as Kytren came into view, anger painted across his burning face. The Vylirex drove straight towards them, Kytren bouncing his vehicle off one of the rock faces, so that its blades were pointed directly at Vert and Zoom, who just managed to avoid being destroyed by the spinning set of knifes. The vehicles rotated in a cloud of dust, Kytren eager for a second chance to destroy the humans. Chills ran through Zoom's body as he heard a bloodcurdling roar swoop past his ear. The creature leapt out from silence, pushed to the brink of terror by the Red Sentient attack. It lashed out at the Vylirex with its claws extended, as Kytren recoiled in shock, before snarling and charging after the terrified creature. It had been pressed to convert its terror into pure inconsolable aggression, so when Vert and Zoom were horrified to watch it in peril, it lashed out at Kytren, with its maw outstretched, lips pulled right back. Though it didn't bite him. It didn't have to. It brought one of its massive feet down on the top of the Vylirex, it claws catching on its blades and tipping the vehicles over. There was a flash as Kytren staggered to his feet, snarling, surprise burning in his orange eyes.

 **"Humans! And a** **Creature** **!"**

"Uh oh," Zoom muttered, taking a stance as Kytren lunged at him with fangs bared. Zoom barely managed to dart away as Kytren raced at him. He kicked out high in the air, as Kytren's claws came down trying to scratch his face. Kytren wheeled around, orange eyes widening as he sidestepped a nasty bite from the creature that was still solely focused on defending itself from the sentient threat. The distraction enabled Zoom to send a kick, causing him to fall face first into the sand. Before the Red Sentient could rise up, Vert brought his sword down on Kytren's back, causing his shell to crack and quickly erode, the crystal structure shattering as the flaming essence took wing into the air. The animal snarled violently, as if to say 'good riddance'.

Vert sighed, "we need to keep moving. The rest won't be so easy to crack."

"Hopefully the rest of the team will get here soon. I really don't wanna get burnt to a crisp by Krytus," Zoom whispered.

"We need to find somewhere to see them, or else we're leading the Red's straight to us."

The wolf's head snapped up to the sky, ears pricked. Seconds later, a loud, scorching boom echoed across the land.

"Let's go."

Vert and Zoom jogged briskly towards the outer wall of the canyon, Stanford following some distance behind. They couldn't always see him, but they were assured of his presence by the loud breathing, and the sound of heavy paws crunching the dust, much too deep and loud to be a human, or a Sentient. It was reassuring, knowing they had an extra pair of eyes to watch over them. It was also comforting to have an experienced hunter with them. Stanford was no survivalist, but the creature that had taken him over was a keen hunter, with senses so sharp, that it could hear or smell threats before any human could even register them and as Zoom watched it sniff the air, he found the whole thing sort of mindboggling. How much everything could change in such a short amount of time. He was taught in the order of the flying fist how to best prepare for change and unpredictable situations, but Stanford had turned into the most unpredictable creature he had ever met. One moment, he was a hyperactive monster and the next, he was a docile as a companion dog. Perhaps he had underestimated Stanford's sense of self restraint. Though the animal instincts were affecting his judgement, maybe it was keeping him from attacking them. After all, he'd probably be guilt ridden for hurting the team and he was terrified of being trapped inside his own body forever. There was an audible thud as the wolf jumped above the canyon, Zoom and Vert edging their way through a narrow passage, too narrow for the animal. Happy to see the dusty sky on the other side, they found themselves on an open plain, surrounded by multiple caves and crannies. Looking around at the sand dunes and piles of rusting metal, 'Stanford' started to growl. A soft rumbling reverberating from the back of his throat at first, but then a deep growling that set his entire body on edge. Vert and Zoom started glancing about worriedly, looking frantically for any Red Sentients waiting to emerge.

There was a sudden clap of thunder, but not from the Red Sentients. A portal opened up in the distance. Spiralling and crystal blue. Then, with Stanford still growling, they watched in awe a monstrous vehicle crashed through the storm shock and as the vehicle got closer, its outline dancing on the baking horizon - they felt overcome by relief. The Mobi. No doubt the rest of the team. Though, this was short lived as a ring of fire came spiralling out, exploding across the sands. Stanford panicked, his eyes flashing as he turned and fled back into the walls of the maze.

"No!" Vert cried, about to surge after him, before Zoom stopped him.

"Vert! We need to get the team's attention!"

"I know Zoom, but we can't just leave Stanford either - hopefully they saw the explosions and they'll get to us before the Red's flatten."

"Vert you can't go by yourself!"

"Trust me, I'll draw them off you and then call for help, there's no time otherwise."

Zoom reluctantly let him go, as the red Sentients emerged.

Zoom's mobility was impeded slightly by his sore ankle, but he was still agile enough to break into a brisk, yet painful run towards the cars on the horizon. The com-link on his wrist buzzed and whirred as static voices finally broke through the radio.

Agura's urgent voice blared through the speaker. "Vert, Zoom! Come in! Does anybody read me?!"

Zoom raised his wrist to his face, "Agura! If you can hear me, I need some help!"

A ring of fire from Kyrosis' vehicles sped past him, close enough for him to feel the heat of the raging fire. Zoom didn't want to turn around, but he could hear the aggressive roaring of engines behind him."

"Zoom, where are you?!" Agura asked, frantically, "We can see Kyrosis but-."

"Kyrosis is following me-." Zoom barely ducked out of the way as Krylox came surging past him, laughing manically. "Make that Krylox too."

"Hang on Zoom!" Other voices chimed in.

Krylox turned around and Kyrosis circled him. Zoom could now make out the Mobi but he could still get fried before they arrived.

 **"Prepare to be flattened Human!"**

Zoom backflipped and used a handspring to jump over Krylox, but landed painfully with his damaged ankle and struggled to stand, just as Kyrosis charged his fiery wheels.

The Mobi's blaring horn erupted and smashed into the vehicle, crushing the sentient and sending the rings of fire speeding off in another direction. The ramp lowered and the four smaller vehicles sped out, two of which set to work ramming Krylox, whilst Agura and Tezz tended to Zoom.

"Zoom! Are you okay?" Agura helped him up as Tezz made his way over. "What happened?"

"Ugh...," He slowly focused, "We need to find Vert. Kyburi and Krytus went after him and Stanford."

"You guys found Stanford?" Agura raised her brow.

"Yeah, you got the antidote?"

"Yep."

"Hm. Curious. How is his condition? Sage's calculations have guessed that he may have significantly worsened," Tezz asked.

"I don't know," Zoom admitted," I've never seen him like this. He wouldn't hurt me, or Vert, but then again he was struggling to do anything else. Until the red Sentients appeared, then he went crazy."

"Intriguing. The ranging neurological stress and anger are typical. Trust is not."

"Maybe, but Stanford knows Vert and Zoom and knows that the Red's are bad news," Agura reasoned.

"I don't know. I've never seen him that angry before, but it was like he was terrified at the same time."

"The wolves are natural enemies of the Reds. If his instincts are taking over, then he'll definitely want to defend himself."

"Well, where are they now?" Spinner asked through the radio from the Mobi.

"Stanford bolted. Vert went after him. I didn't see where Krytus and Kyburi went."

Nervous glances and silence followed. Everybody knew that they would need to find them soon. The Red tyrants would try to kill the team without thought. And Stanford...Stanford wouldn't last much longer in this condition. The divide in the group had become very, very dire.


	14. Shutdown

"Stanford? Where are you buddy?," Vert hissed, his throat dry from the harsh desert sand and the rusty air. Gone was the strangely comforting sound of paws padding along the ground, the sound of distant heavy breathing. And Stanford was smart. He had camouflaged himself. He was here somewhere, perhaps right under Vert's unsuspecting nose. And Vert was near stupid. Standing out in the open, easy pickings for Krytus or Kyburi - and he didn't have Stanford's keen senses to warn him of any close threats. He was walking into a room full of knifes blind. The blonde moved behind some large boulders, hoping to uncover any preserved paw prints - but the ground was solid and bone dry. In the distance, beyond the howling of the wind, Vert thought he could hear the sound of gyros, wheels groaning over the sand and he instinctively ducked behind one of the larger rocks. There was a distant hiss, as the Syfurious rolled to a slow halt just metres from Vert. The leader felt his heart sink as a pair of feet crunched down onto the sand, slowly pacing a circle. Then, two feet became four as a conversation broke out between Krytus and Kyburi.

 _ **"Krylox and Kyrosis will deal with the lesser Human. Why do your tracking skills cease to find the leader and the beast he is searching for?"**_

 _ **"My skills are most efficient Krytus! These canyons render my heat signature systems useless!"**_

The female sentient's voice softened to a lull almost.

 _ **"However, the beast may be hard to track, but human's are weak survivors. He could not have gotten far within Sage's technology to aid him."**_

 _ **"Indeed, Kyburi. If I recollect, we once enslaved those creatures to use against Sage's miserable race."**_

 _ **"Ah yes. They were intriguing tools of war, one drop of venom enough to send a sentient into turmoil. Should we find that creature, we should capture it ourselves. It may prove useful to our cause.**_

 _ **"Perhaps. Perhaps we could turn it against those miserable humans and watch it tear them limb from limb."**_

Krytus' voice became louder as he got closer to Vert. Krytus snarled and before Vert knew it, a smaller boulder beside him had been sliced in half, still molten from the intense heat of krytus' core. The red sentients were still oblivious to his presence but that was far from comforting to Vert. He could practically feel his heart knocking against his ribs to escape. He was lucky, but not for much longer. Krytus snarled and sheathed his blade before stomping away, back towards the Syfurious.

 _ **"Kyburi, set your traps, no creature walks away from us alive."**_

Vert heard them leave, but knew that he would be an indefinite madman to leave now. Kyburi would be weaving her web of traps and it was only a matter of time before he would walk into one. Surely Zoom would find the team and they would come looking for him. But Vert was feeling doubtful. Would anybody walk out of this alive? Would Stanford not only survive but get his human form back? These were all questions with indefinite answers. Vert peered around the edge of the large boulder and seeing there were no Red Sentients, he hopped up onto the rock, reaching another ledge to get to the second level of the rock wall. He clambered up rather effortlessly and edged his way around the gap, keeping his eyes peeled for Stanford or Zoom. They were hunting Stanford. Stanford may have been given the body and mind-set of a cunning, sly predator, but Kyburi was an equally proud and brutal huntress. She wanted him alive, to enslave, without even realising his human roots. He hoped the hybrid could hold his own, it would hurt the team more to know he was a mindless possession to Krytus' legion.

Vert gazed down at the ground down below. Kyburi was quick to weave her web of traps. Vert cringed.

A pattern of red energy beams lined the passage, barely hovering above the floor. On contact, they would alert their creator and likely give their victim a nasty antimatter energy shock. Vert clutched his sword, rounding a corner on the ledge, which brought him into an isolated crag on the strange landscape. A pit, filled with soft, dune-like sand in contrast to the harsh grit There were two entrances and exits to the structure, with was walled in by a large red-rock, smooth-walled monolith which stretched up to kiss the hazy yellow skies. Vert jumped down and dashed across to the other side, feet padding on the soft sand. There was a bridge structure along the other gap and he glanced out over it into the crooked passage. The floor was lined with similar traps, except these metal pods resembling a bear trap, featuring a pair of electrified steel jaws. Vert was about to steal a closer glance but was halted when he heard soft footsteps thudding towards him, echoing of the walls. Thinking it was Kyburi returning to check her traps, Vert ducked behind one of the edges, peeking over to check.

Though, his nervousness disappeared once he saw the huge, hunched shadow of an animal and couldn't help but smirk as Stanford, or at least what was left of him – cautiously peered around the corner. His green eyes seemed wizened, but certainly not at peace. Old and tired. Worn out like the ends of his auburn fur. Vert felt his chest tighten as the hybrid's eyes darted down to the traps. Its lips contorted, almost into a scowl as it lifted a huge paw and stepped over the first trap. Vert watched in amazement as he continued to sidestep the danger, claws digging into the grit and gravel. It travelled over the last trap with confidence and Vert moved down to confront him.

Unfortunately, Vert wasn't aware of how sudden his movements had been. Thinking of how calm he had behaved around him and Zoom before, Vert hadn't anticipated, or wanted to startle Stanford. Not in the slightest. However, when he jumped down, the animal panicked, almost backing over its own feet. Vert lifted his hands reflexively, trying to break the tension and reflexively calm him down, but the closer he got, the further Stanford would back away. His back foot graced against one of the traps and Vert shouted out in a panic. Stanford put his opposite foot back and Vert heard the unforgiving crunch of the teeth of the alloy metal jaws latching onto the beast's rear leg.

An excruciating, shrill squeal was ripped from the beast's jaws as it leapt into the air, painfully keeping itself upright on three unsteady feet - tail locked between its legs, ears pinned and eyes brimming with fear, anxiety and pain. Vert crashed down into the dust to avoid being crushed as it continued to scream and bay, blood starting to seep out from between the metal teeth and drop onto the sand.

"Stanford!" Vert rushed in to help, trying to grab Stanford's leg. When he finally did get his hands on the trap - the sudden pain and anxiety induced adrenaline was making the animal panic and dart from side to side, he found that he couldn't pry the metal jaws open. Blood dribbled across his fingers. Could he cut it off with his sword? Not likely, it was sunken in close to the bone. Besides, Stanford was screaming and yowling - Kyburi and Krytus would surely have already heard his distressed cries. Then it would already be too late. He tugged harder, feeling his arms straining as the hinge on the trap started to creak open. Nearly. The pressure of the bar on the opposite end of the trap was intensifying and whether or not it was accidental or intended, Stanford lashed out at Vert. Being kicked by a 3/4 tonne animal didn't hurt as much as being bitten with a bite force stronger than a lion's, but it carried enough force to knock Vert across the floor and make him feel slightly nauseous. He watched with askew vision as the canid turned around and grabbed the trap between its jaws, ripping it away, screws and individual pieces raining down on the floor. As it tried to put pressure down on its leg, Vert could see the puncture marks in the fur, staining the orange coat with dark coloured blood.

The sound of roaring engines tore through the animal's whimpering as two dark crimson cars came crashing through the opening. Vert could the repelling fear welling up in the beast's eyes, its yellow eyes distorting until they were almost white like sheets of terror. Vert held onto his sword through his scuffed and aching palms, yet he knew that he would struggle to repel both Krytus and Kyburi. Kyburi's vehicle started to block their exit, the car's 'fangs' buzzing with energy. Meanwhile, Krytus jumped out of the Syfurious and started to steadily pace his way over towards Stanford, his molten blade barely scorching the floor. Vert watched as the two predators locked eyes and Vert thought he saw caution reflect in Krytus' deep, blazing eyes. Stanford was just as tense - every inch of his thick, shaggy coat was on end and starting to curl and his ears were barely visible against his skull. The noises the canid made were repelling - inhuman snorts and snarls, so loud as to warn any creature. Though, Red sentients were tyrannical and bold; they were undeterred by any façade of aggression.

Though it was mostly fruitless, Vert blundered into Krytus' path, wielding the same sword Sage had given him on the day they had met. His body was worn and stiff, but he couldn't let Krytus kill Stanford, or take him prisoner. Krytus laughed.

 **"I can respect courage, human, but you are a fool to stand between two highly adapted warriors. I cannot understand your race's necessity for compassion,"** Krytus spat, **"It is what brings my sister to salvage warriors from a non-eternal species. You stand before us and protect this voracious creature with no higher value for your own survival."**

There was a louder hissing sound as Krytus pierced the sand with his blade. He smirked. **"Or perhaps that isn't your motive, human. Kyburi noticed the absence of one of your team members."** Krytus gave a sickening smile as he noticed the dread in Vert's eyes. **"perhaps I am looking at him right now. I can see a resemblance, human. It is amusing how similar how similar it occurs on the miserable blue race - one look in the eyes says it all."**

Vert swung his gaze towards Stanford. He couldn't see it - but Krytus had been around for eons and had a superior mind and body. **"As enjoyable as it would be to capture a human, your teammate has earned my mercy. Though, infections must be eradicated. I'll put it down before it becomes more deranged!"**

Vert's sword clashed against Krytus as the red sentient made a move to strike his friend. Krytus was fast - Vert could barely catch each of the white hot slashes. Yet, Kyburi didn't intervene. She didn't need to. Without Stanford's help, he would eventually succumb to Krytus' flames. The human fighter kicked out, Krytus faltering only a little. The sentient plunged his arm forwards, barely missing Vert by seconds. Krytus lunged forwards again and swung the blade of cooled mantle straight down on Vert. Vert fought to stop the blow, but Krytus was stronger and his sword was facing him flat; eventually, the force wrenched it from his hands and Krytus kicked him back to the ground. He struggled, but the Red sentient hoisted him up by the collar. He tried to kick, but was threatened with a blade to the throat. Kyburi was laughing. **"I'm going to enjoy this, human. I appreciate a challenge, but war can only be entertaining as long as I conquer the multiverse-"**

Vert didn't close his eyes as expected when so close to death, but tried to stare Krytus down despite the constriction in his throat. Though, he was good to be looking, as otherwise he wouldn't have had the satisfying pleasure of the of seeing the sentient's feet ripped from under him. Something human or not, had snapped in Stanford. Where previously he was so strong yet powerless, now he had overcome his fears. Whether it was to destroy Krytus or to save him, he wouldn't find out until later. Currently they were one in the same, uniting against a threat to the whole multiverse. Out of the air, the enraged creature had surged in and wrapped its thick jaws around one of Krytus' feet. With a single flex of its thick, muscular neck, it threw Krytus into the air, Vert landing on the ground. Kyburi's eyes widened and Krytus was yelling. Vert's heart nearly stopped from shock as he watched as Stanford caught Krytus between his teeth as he came back down and he didn't seem to be waning in his grip, despite how hard Krytus was hitting him. In fact, the leader watched in horror as Krytus' shell started to crack and split from the pressure. Within seconds, the teeth snapped shut and Krytus' essence soared up into the air. Vert stood mortified. Kyburi, filled with rage, surged her vehicle towards the pair, but was blocked by an incoming EMP blast, shattering her essence.

Kyburi's vehicle landed in a mangled heap as Vert felt a wave of relief wash over him as Tezz and Agura emerged, weapons bared. Noticing Vert and Stanford, they lowered their guard and rushed towards them, Zoom emerging from the splitwire along with Tezz. Vert nervously eyed Stanford, but he was no longer in a crazed sense of mind. He seemed once more subdued. Exhausted. Drained. He was barely on his feet, his back feet splayed along the ground. He seemed undeterred by the other humans and his chest was heaving as he nursed his still bleeding leg. Agura held the antidote for Stanford's aliment, but he didn't seem worried about it. She approached him with a nervous look on her usually calm face.

"Krytus. Did Stanford-," She asked, pausing.

"I don't know what happened, but yeah," he whispered back. Both team members looked to the side as Stanford uttered a whine and a long sigh, dropping down onto his knees and letting his head drop to the dust, his bold eyes half lidded.

"His control is destabilising Vert, we must act quickly," Tezz advised. Vert sighed. He moved to crouch next to Stanford's head, whilst Agura took his front leg in her hands. Stanford barely flinched, only blinking a little. Vert smoothed the remains of his fauxhawk atop his head. "Easy buddy, this will make things feel better. I promise." Vert watched almost in a sensation of numbness as Agura and Tezz searched for the bloodstream and then pumped the contents of the vial into his body. Vert was worried that Stanford was barely moving, the man-wolf occasionally twitching softly with a rough sigh until it stopped altogether except for the occasional hoarse breath. Tezz seemed to notice Vert's concern and offered what seemed to be a rare offer of sympathy.

"He's unconscious, Vert. The cure is slow to work and he will not be able to regain consciousness until the serum completes its infection." Vert sighed. At least maybe now he would finally be able to recover from this. After all, he owed it to Stanford now. Even in such an obscured state of mind, Vert couldn't surpass the fact that Stanford had taken out Krytus, and much less saved his life. He had been through a lot in the last week - the least they could do is allow him some rest and recuperation.

"Then lets get him back to the Mobi before that happens."

* * *

 _ **Relatively short penultimate chapter! There will be one more chapter and then perhaps a oneshot.**_


	15. Epilogue

_**So I've gotten a lot of questions about this story: how many more chapters are there? one. this was it. Am I finishing this story? This is the unfinished epilogue so I guess yes this is the end. I got about 1k into this but eventually lost interest because of the story's blandness and overused plotline but I might as well post this to tie up any loose ends as I don't know if I will come back to BF5, though I wont be going further with this one. Just to clarify what is missing in the chapter was just going to be the team reconciling and Vert and Stanford having better respect for each other.**_

* * *

Stanford felt a dull shiver travel through his body – form close to sprawled out and bound by mind-forged weights. He could barely muster the strength to try to lift his concrete-heavy eyelids, let alone try to comprehend what was going on around him. Everything was extremely distorted, his painfully sharp otherworldly senses taken from him as the way in which blindness steals from a person. His ears, the only sense still working, could pick up faint voices through the rough noise of the migraine thrumming in his head. A range of different voices, but their words were meaningless garble to him all the same, so he couldn't figure it out if they were talking to him or not. He tried to do so much as twitch his fingers, but each and every known bone in his body was sore and tender, as though newly set. He had a vague understanding of what was going on, but somehow, knowing that this was probably a consequence of his 'illness' didn't scare him. In fact, he was far from panicked – so sedated and tired that there was barely any feeling left. His mind wasn't racing or looking for escape routes or … looking for something to maul. Speaking of which, he couldn't feel the inexplicable rage that was usually bubbling up inside his body. Nor did he feel ravenous or threatened. Just drained. And that, despite what he had been through in the past through days, was abnormal. His body had been on overdrive. And his mind was parched, his memory full of sand. All very vague. There had been a struggle, that he was sure of. He wasn't sure who it was. He had been afraid, afraid and possessive about something. And it had hurt. He was hurt and then got stuck inside his own head.

"Stanford? Hang on Sage, I think he's coming to."

Stanford groaned, wanting to communicate a response. He could hear Vert somewhere nearby, trying to talk to him. He fought to open his eyes, wincing as the light rushed in to confront him. He fiercely blinked a few times, everything far too bright. As his eyes adjusted he could make out several figures standing by his bedside. Bedside? He was in some sort of medical room, with his head propped up on a pillow and his arms attached to various monitors. Though his vision was blurry, and he couldn't distinguish faces, he could immediately pick up on the intense brightness of the shocksuits in the room. A full colour spectrum. Except for the royal purple that was his own, that is. Then red. Vert was leaning closer to him. Stanford tried to focus, rubbing his eyes with his heavy hands that felt like he had walked a marathon on them.

"Give him some room guys. Stanford? Dude, can you hear me?"

"Ugh." Stanford groaned, squinting tiredly, struggling to sit up. "Vert? Is that you?" Stanford couldn't be sure. Reality had been so twisted recently. He was half-expecting his body to erupt into a mutant once more.

"Hey, Stanford," Vert said softly, "how are you feeling buddy?"

"I…don't know," Stanford's eyes narrowed. "Though seriously, what did you do to me mates? I feel like I got dropped off a skyscraper and then pushed in front of the buster." He groaned again as he shrugged his shoulders. "every bone in my bloody body is aching like no tomorrow."

"Overstatement," Spinner coughed loudly and then yelped as Agura softly elbowed him in the ribs, silencing him.

"Actually, Stanford's _colourful_ description is quite accurate," Stanford noticed Sage in the corner, wearing a smile that seemed too cheerful for this predicament. "Without the antigen DNA molecules to produce the side effects that increase the rate of cell replenishment and recovery you will heal at the rate of a normal human. In addition, the sudden absence of the foreign DNA has left a theoretical 'gap' in your genetic makeup. You will need to rest your body in order for your immune system to recover from the adverse effects of the toxins."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Stanford repeated, "you said they were gone?"

"Indeed," Sage smiled, "only trace amounts of toxins remain. Within a few days, you should be back to your normal self."

"You mean I'm cured!?" Stanford asked, relief and joy present in his voice. It was almost as though the sudden good news had left him energised, as he moved to try and get out of bed. As soon as he tried to put his feet down, however, he cringed under a sudden loss of balance and fell forwards, fortunately where Vert and Sherman could catch him. Sage ushered him back onto the bed, instructing that he must rest. Stanford propped himself back onto the bed and ripped back the sheets, gazing in confusion at the cast of bandages framing his lower leg. As Stanford had been given the antidote shortly after injuring himself, the antibodies hadn't had time to rapidly heal him. When they had got him back, Sage had tried to patch him up as best as she could – thankfully nothing had been thoroughly broken, but there had been one or two hairline fractures to his tibia and Kiburi's trap had left some deep wounds. So, Sage had bound him in braces and bandages, because it seemed like a case for bedrest more than anything.

"Argh!" he growled. Then, his face morphed into a deadpan, as if he was too tired to create a scene. "Let me guess, Sheriff Johnson?"

"Uh about that," Spinner scratched his head nervously, "Krytus."

Stanford raised a brow inquisitively, "we were fighting Krytus?"

"Erm, more like he attacked us and you, justifiably so, fought back," Vert explained.

"Dude, it was awesome! Who knew you could singlehandedly kick major red sentient butt?" Spinner blurted. Stanford frowned.

"Bruh, you don't remember?" AJ asked, "the look on Krytus' face when you cracked his shell."

"I'm just going to stop asking what's going on anymore."

Vert laughed. "Besides, I suppose I'm in your debt for a while buddy…you did kinda save my life back there from Krytus."


End file.
